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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. drill — the tool
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. pop — soda
  6. race — the arms race
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wake — a trail
  11. drill — army training
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. race — humankind
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. pop — music
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pop — to visit
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. stem — to come from
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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