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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — to come from
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bank — for money
  8. race — the arms race
  9. clip — a video
  10. ground — crushed
  11. race — a contest
  12. track — a path
  13. track — to keep track
  14. ground — the earth
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — of a river
  18. degree — temperature
  19. track — a song
  20. ground — a position
  21. clip — for paper
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. clip — to cut

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