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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. race — humankind
  3. staff — employees
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — clever
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. race — a contest
  10. drill — army training
  11. race — the arms race
  12. rash — hasty
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. root — of a plant
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — a stick
  17. stem — to come from
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. root — of a word
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. root — the cause
  22. drill — the tool
  23. rash — a series
  24. drill — a practice

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