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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 120 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: root · bat · race · board · stem · staff · drill · kid

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bat — the animal
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. board — a committee
  6. board — to get on
  7. root — of a plant
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. kid — to tease
  10. staff — employees
  11. drill — army training
  12. race — the arms race
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. root — of a word
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. kid — child
  21. race — humankind
  22. drill — the tool
  23. staff — employees
  24. root — the cause

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