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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. stand — to bear
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. race — a contest
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. race — the arms race
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. land — ground
  12. cell — a phone
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. land — a country
  15. cell — in biology
  16. land — to come down
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. fan — a supporter

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