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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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Word bank
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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: cold · net · fan · tube · race · bank · stem · object

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. bank — of a river
  3. object — to protest
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. net — for catching
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. stem — to come from
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. object — an aim
  13. cold — not warm
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bank — for money
  17. object — a thing
  18. tube — a container
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. tube — the underground
  22. bank — for money
  23. net — in sport
  24. net — after costs

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