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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. stem — to come from
  3. band — a ring
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. race — humankind
  6. band — a music group
  7. race — a contest
  8. spell — letters
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. court — of a king
  15. tube — the underground
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. court — of law
  18. spell — magic
  19. tube — a container
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. race — the arms race
  22. spell — a short time
  23. sharp — clever
  24. court — for sport

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