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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. cap — a hat
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — in a race
  9. cap — a lid
  10. race — the arms race
  11. spring — a coil
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. spring — of water
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. race — a contest
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. spring — the season
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wake — a trail
  23. race — humankind
  24. row — a line

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