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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rock — a stone
  3. race — a contest
  4. season — of the year
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. kid — child
  9. row — a line
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. race — humankind
  12. kid — to tease
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rash — a series
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. season — in sport
  22. rock — music
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. row — to paddle

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