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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 information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. file — a document
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. prune — to trim
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. race — the arms race
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. prune — to trim
  11. file — a line of people
  12. race — a contest
  13. rash — a series
  14. plane — a tool
  15. file — a tool
  16. rash — hasty
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — to come from
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. tear — to rip
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. plane — in geometry

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