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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: nail · wind · kid · leaves · face · stem · game · race

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. 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. stem — of a plant
  2. wind — moving air
  3. game — a match
  4. stem — to come from
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. kid — to tease
  7. game — wild animals
  8. kid — child
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. face — part of the head
  12. race — humankind
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. face — to confront
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. race — the arms race
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. face — to point toward
  21. wind — moving air
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. 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