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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 116 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. kid — to tease
  14. race — the arms race
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stem — to come from
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. spring — of water
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. spring — a coil
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. spring — the season
  24. leaves — lets stay

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