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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 120 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: charge · race · stem · snap · band · last · spring · stand

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. spring — of water
  4. charge — a price
  5. spring — the season
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. spring — a coil
  8. snap — to click
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. race — humankind
  12. charge — in control
  13. stand — to bear
  14. charge — electricity
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. band — a music group
  17. last — to go on
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — to come from
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a ring
  22. last — final
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. last — finally

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