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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: stem · temple · race · track · squash · cold · spring · coach

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cold — not warm
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. track — a path
  5. race — humankind
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. squash — to crush
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. squash — the sport
  10. spring — of water
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. race — the arms race
  13. spring — the season
  14. cold — an illness
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. spring — a coil
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. track — a song
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. race — a contest
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. track — to keep track
  24. stem — a stem cell

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