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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. cold — not warm
  3. spring — the season
  4. chip — to eat
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. chip — for betting
  8. field — for sport
  9. stem — to come from
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. spring — of water
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. stand — to bear
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. field — a subject
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — humankind
  22. spring — a coil
  23. race — a contest
  24. field — farmland

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