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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. band — a music group
  3. prune — to trim
  4. band — a ring
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. cap — a lid
  10. net — in sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stock — goods
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. net — for catching
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stock — shares
  20. stem — to come from
  21. cap — of ice
  22. race — a contest
  23. net — after costs
  24. cap — a hat

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