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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. net — in sport
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. race — humankind
  5. scale — size or range
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. race — a contest
  8. cell — a phone
  9. net — after costs
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bound — certain
  12. net — for catching
  13. suit — to fit
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. suit — in cards
  16. mine — for digging
  17. scale — in music
  18. bound — tied together
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bound — obliged
  23. race — the arms race
  24. coach — a trainer

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