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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: cell · wound · race · face · file · stem · coach · bound

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. race — humankind
  4. stem — to come from
  5. file — a tool
  6. cell — in biology
  7. face — part of the head
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bound — obliged
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. file — a document
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bound — tied together
  16. cell — a phone
  17. face — to confront
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. race — a contest
  21. face — to point toward
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bound — certain
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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