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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — the arms race
  4. can — to be able to
  5. race — a contest
  6. track — a song
  7. track — a path
  8. pop — soda
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. track — to keep track
  11. can — a tin
  12. mate — a friend
  13. ground — a position
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — music
  16. ground — crushed
  17. mate — to breed
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. ground — the earth
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. can — a tin
  24. stem — to come from

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