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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. scale — size or range
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. last — to go on
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. rest — what's left
  15. race — a contest
  16. snap — to click
  17. rest — a break
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. rest — what's left
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — the arms race
  24. scale — in music

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