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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: bore · race · rash · present · clip · ball · pit · stem

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. pit — in a race
  3. clip — a video
  4. stem — to come from
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. present — there
  11. bore — to tire
  12. clip — to cut
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. present — the time now
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. pit — a hole
  20. rash — hasty
  21. present — a gift
  22. race — a contest
  23. rash — a series
  24. bore — to drill

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