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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. date — the fruit
  4. pop — soda
  5. net — after costs
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. race — a contest
  10. game — a match
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. race — humankind
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bore — to tire
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. pop — music
  22. race — the arms race
  23. bore — to drill
  24. stem — of a plant

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