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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. prune — to trim
  3. race — a contest
  4. track — a song
  5. stem — to come from
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. squash — the sport
  9. race — humankind
  10. prune — to trim
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — a series
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. race — the arms race
  24. stem — a stem cell

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