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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. stem — to come from
  3. race — a contest
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. scale — in music
  6. ball — a dance
  7. bulb — for light
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. ball — a great time
  11. cap — of ice
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. mine — for digging
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. race — the arms race
  20. cap — a lid
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bulb — for light
  23. cap — a hat
  24. mine — an explosive

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