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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 120 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: race · perch · cap · stem · bound · coach · key · wind

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. key — the most important part
  3. stem — to come from
  4. key — for a lock
  5. cap — a hat
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. key — in music
  11. perch — the fish
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — tied together
  15. cap — a lid
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cap — of ice
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bound — obliged
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — a contest
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. race — humankind

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