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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 · clip · race · craft · stand · stem · degree · root

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cell — a phone
  3. degree — an amount
  4. cell — in biology
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. race — a contest
  8. stem — to come from
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. root — of a word
  14. craft — boats
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. race — the arms race
  17. degree — temperature
  18. root — of a plant
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. clip — a video
  21. craft — a skill
  22. stand — to bear
  23. degree — from a university
  24. root — the cause

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