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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. cell — in biology
  4. race — the arms race
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. field — a subject
  7. deal — to handle
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cell — a phone
  14. race — a contest
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bark — to shout
  20. field — farmland
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. field — 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