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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · file · race · kick · stem · court

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stem — to come from
  4. race — a contest
  5. court — of a king
  6. file — a document
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. file — a line of people
  11. tear — to rip
  12. court — of law
  13. kick — in football
  14. file — a tool
  15. race — humankind
  16. court — for sport
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. race — the arms race

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