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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: race · dip · march · cap · hand · stem · kick · wind

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. march — the month
  4. dip — to sink
  5. cap — a lid
  6. hand — help
  7. cap — a hat
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. hand — in cards
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — the arms race
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. race — a contest
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. wind — moving air

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