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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: fan · hide · lean · race · bear · bat · stem · degree

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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 — the arms race
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. lean — thin
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. degree — from a university
  8. stem — to come from
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bear — the animal
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. lean — to bend
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. race — humankind
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. race — a contest
  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