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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. land — to come down
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. land — a country
  6. last — final
  7. band — a music group
  8. mug — a cup
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — humankind
  11. last — finally
  12. bulb — for light
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. land — ground
  19. mug — a face
  20. band — a ring
  21. bulb — for light
  22. mug — to rob
  23. pitch — completely
  24. race — a contest

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