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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — the arms race
  4. cue — a hint
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. season — of the year
  7. race — a contest
  8. bound — tied together
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bound — obliged
  13. prune — to trim
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bound — certain
  21. prune — to trim
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. season — in sport
  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