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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. race — the arms race
  6. net — for catching
  7. last — finally
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. net — in sport
  11. mate — to breed
  12. race — a contest
  13. last — to go on
  14. wound — an injury
  15. swing — in golf
  16. mate — a friend
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. swing — music
  20. mate — a partner
  21. last — final
  22. swing — to play on
  23. net — after costs
  24. race — humankind

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