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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. date — the fruit
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. pit — in a race
  7. spring — a coil
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. pit — a hole
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. race — the arms race
  12. ball — a great time
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. stem — to come from
  15. ball — a dance
  16. spring — of water
  17. rash — a series
  18. spring — the season
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. race — a contest
  21. rash — hasty
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. mine — for digging

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