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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bound — tied together
  3. bound — obliged
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. game — a match
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bound — certain
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. race — humankind
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. game — wild animals
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. row — to paddle
  24. race — the arms race

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