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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: ball · date · wound · snap · stem · calf · tube · race

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. tube — the underground
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. tube — a container
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wound — an injury
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. ball — a great time
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. snap — to click
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. race — humankind
  19. ball — a dance
  20. wound — an injury
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. race — a contest
  24. date — the fruit

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