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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. race — a contest
  5. cue — a signal
  6. pop — to visit
  7. race — humankind
  8. stem — to come from
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. drill — army training
  11. mine — for digging
  12. race — the arms race
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. drill — a practice
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. drill — the tool
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. cue — for pool
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cue — a hint
  23. pop — soda
  24. stem — of a plant

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com