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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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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: hide · spell · stem · mine · wind · race · press · dip

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. mine — for digging
  3. dip — to sink
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. race — the arms race
  7. wind — moving air
  8. press — newspapers
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. press — to push
  12. stem — to come from
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spell — magic
  15. press — a publisher
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. race — humankind
  22. spell — letters
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — animal skin

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