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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: net · ruler · hand · stem · race · cold · bulb · nail

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. net — in sport
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stem — to come from
  9. race — the arms race
  10. net — for catching
  11. cold — not warm
  12. race — humankind
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. race — a contest
  17. net — after costs
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cold — an illness
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. hand — help
  24. ruler — for measuring

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