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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 124 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. ground — a position
  7. stem — to come from
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. rash — a series
  15. bear — the animal
  16. clip — a video
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. bear — the animal
  20. clip — for paper
  21. ground — the earth
  22. clip — to cut
  23. chair — to sit on
  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