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

Word bank: wind · present · stem · squash · race · nail

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. race — a contest
  3. present — a gift
  4. squash — to crush
  5. race — humankind
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. race — the arms race
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. wind — moving air
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. stem — to come from
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. wind — moving air

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