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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. cap — a lid
  5. charge — electricity
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — the arms race
  8. field — a subject
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bank — for money
  11. charge — a price
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. bank — of a river
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bank — for money
  16. charge — in control
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. race — humankind
  21. field — for sport
  22. land — ground
  23. field — farmland
  24. cap — a hat

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