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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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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: rule · key · race · stem · chest · pitcher · court · spell

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. key — the most important part
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. race — a contest
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. court — of law
  8. race — the arms race
  9. rule — a law
  10. chest — a box
  11. stem — to come from
  12. spell — a short time
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. rule — government
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. court — of a king
  17. key — in music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. court — for sport
  20. key — for a lock
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  24. race — humankind

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