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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: object · race · toast · stem · fall · kid

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. object — a thing
  3. race — the arms race
  4. fall — the season
  5. toast — bread
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. kid — child
  11. fall — to drop
  12. race — a contest
  13. stem — to come from
  14. race — humankind
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. fall — to drop
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — an aim

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