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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. race — the arms race
  2. ground — the earth
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. stem — to come from
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. court — of a king
  7. race — a contest
  8. bark — to shout
  9. court — for sport
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. degree — from a university
  15. ground — a position
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. ground — crushed
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. degree — temperature
  23. court — of law
  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