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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 120 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. drill — the tool
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. content — happy
  7. content — the amount
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. race — a contest
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. race — humankind
  14. drill — a practice
  15. rush — hurry
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — boats
  19. drill — army training
  20. race — the arms race
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. bat — the animal
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. bat — in an idiom

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