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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. fall — to drop
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a line
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cell — in biology
  8. squash — the sport
  9. cell — a phone
  10. rule — government
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. wound — an injury
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. race — humankind
  15. rule — a law
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. squash — to crush
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. race — the arms race
  21. race — a contest
  22. branch — a division
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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