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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 120 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bank — for money
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. season — of the year
  6. last — to go on
  7. bank — of a river
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bank — for money
  10. last — final
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. race — the arms race
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. stem — to come from
  19. season — in sport
  20. last — finally
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. race — a contest
  23. shower — rain
  24. race — humankind

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