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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. race — the arms race
  4. prune — to trim
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. band — a music group
  8. race — humankind
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. capital — money
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. roll — a list
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stem — to come from
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. race — a contest
  20. band — a ring
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. roll — a cake
  23. capital — a city
  24. capital — a big letter

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