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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: mark · race · cold · stem · suit · roll · kid · perch

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. When will it ________________ you to start?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mark — a grade
  3. race — a contest
  4. suit — clothes
  5. race — humankind
  6. stem — to come from
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. mark — a trace
  11. roll — a cake
  12. suit — to fit
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. suit — in cards
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. race — the arms race
  23. cold — an illness
  24. roll — a list

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