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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: race · kid · stem · ground · safe · cold · bat · deal

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. kid — child
  3. deal — to handle
  4. race — a contest
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cold — not warm
  8. race — humankind
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stem — to come from
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. race — the arms race
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. ground — the earth
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. stem — of a plant

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