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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 116 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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — humankind
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — to come from
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. band — a ring
  8. race — the arms race
  9. present — a gift
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. stock — shares
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. spell — letters
  14. squash — the sport
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — to crush
  18. stock — goods
  19. wax — to grow
  20. spell — magic
  21. spell — a short time
  22. present — there
  23. band — a music group
  24. present — the time now

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