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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. race — a contest
  6. charge — electricity
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. shower — rain
  9. cell — a phone
  10. shower — to wash
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wound — an injury
  16. race — humankind
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. tear — to rip
  19. charge — in control
  20. cell — in biology
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. tear — from crying
  24. charge — a price

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