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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: race · kid · spell · stem · rest · hand · content · bowl

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spell — a short time
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. rest — a break
  7. hand — in cards
  8. spell — letters
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. race — a contest
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. rest — what's left
  15. race — the arms race
  16. kid — to tease
  17. content — the amount
  18. rest — what's left
  19. race — humankind
  20. spell — magic
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. kid — child
  23. hand — help
  24. bowl — a football final

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