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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. cell — in biology
  3. race — a contest
  4. key — the most important part
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. fall — the season
  8. rash — hasty
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. key — in music
  11. race — humankind
  12. cell — a phone
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. race — the arms race
  16. rash — a series
  17. key — for a lock
  18. fall — to drop

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