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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. race — humankind
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — in biology
  7. race — the arms race
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rush — hurry
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. lean — thin
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. race — a contest
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. cold — an illness
  22. lean — to bend
  23. tear — from crying
  24. mouse — for a computer

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