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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. plane — a tool
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rest — what's left
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. firm — steady
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. firm — decided
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. race — the arms race
  15. rest — what's left
  16. race — humankind
  17. row — to paddle
  18. stem — to come from
  19. rest — a break
  20. firm — a company
  21. race — a contest
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. row — a line

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