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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cap — of ice
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. race — humankind
  5. rest — what's left
  6. sharp — clever
  7. race — the arms race
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rest — what's left
  10. cap — a hat
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. rest — a break
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cap — a lid
  15. current — of water
  16. race — a contest
  17. stem — to come from
  18. kid — child
  19. current — happening now
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. shower — rain
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. current — electric

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