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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: wave · race · file · court · cold · stem

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. court — for sport
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. court — of a king
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. race — humankind
  9. file — a document
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. file — a tool
  14. court — of law
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. file — a line of people
  18. race — a contest

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