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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 124 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. race — a contest
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. race — the arms race
  7. shower — rain
  8. fall — to drop
  9. race — humankind
  10. roll — a cake
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. kid — to tease
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. kid — child
  23. roll — a list
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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