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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a grade
  3. tube — the underground
  4. land — to come down
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. race — a contest
  8. cell — a phone
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. club — for golf
  11. mark — a trace
  12. race — humankind
  13. land — ground
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. race — the arms race
  16. tube — a container
  17. cell — in biology
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. shower — rain
  22. club — for dancing
  23. club — a group
  24. land — a country

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