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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. race — a contest
  8. plane — a tool
  9. race — humankind
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. kid — to tease
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. saw — the tool
  16. date — the fruit
  17. chair — a leader
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. race — the arms race
  20. stem — to come from
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. kid — child
  23. pound — a weight
  24. stem — of a plant

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