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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. court — of a king
  3. swing — in golf
  4. tear — from crying
  5. swing — to play on
  6. tube — a container
  7. court — of law
  8. pop — music
  9. tube — the underground
  10. swing — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. court — for sport
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wind — moving air
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. wind — moving air
  18. tear — to rip
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — humankind
  24. pop — to visit

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