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

Word bank: kick · race · pop · land · stem · ruler

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. race — a contest
  4. pop — music
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. stem — to come from
  8. land — to come down
  9. pop — to visit
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pop — soda
  13. race — the arms race
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. kick — in football
  17. race — humankind
  18. stem — a stem cell

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