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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: foot · pound · race · tear · cold · stem · branch · pit

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. race — the arms race
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. branch — a division
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cold — an illness
  11. tear — to rip
  12. race — humankind
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. foot — a measure
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. pound — a weight
  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