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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. pop — music
  4. race — a contest
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. face — to point toward
  8. race — humankind
  9. stem — to come from
  10. pop — soda
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. face — to confront
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. file — a document
  18. face — part of the head
  19. file — a tool
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. file — a line of people
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pop — to visit
  24. bowl — a dish

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