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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 120 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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. drill — army training
  3. stem — to come from
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. race — humankind
  7. content — the amount
  8. spring — of water
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. drill — a practice
  12. spring — the season
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. chip — to eat
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. race — a contest
  19. spring — a coil
  20. content — happy
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. chip — for betting
  24. drill — the tool

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