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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: date · spring · land · march · stem · current · cabinet · race

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — humankind
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. date — the fruit
  6. race — a contest
  7. spring — a coil
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — to come from
  10. land — ground
  11. current — electric
  12. march — the month
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. current — happening now
  18. march — music
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. march — the month
  21. spring — of water
  22. current — of water
  23. spring — the season
  24. land — a country

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