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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stem — to come from
  3. club — for dancing
  4. race — the arms race
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. mine — for digging
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. race — humankind
  11. race — a contest
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bat — the animal
  14. club — a group
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. board — a committee
  23. ball — a great time
  24. board — to get on

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