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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. race — humankind
  3. rest — a break
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. snap — to click
  7. net — after costs
  8. face — to point toward
  9. net — for catching
  10. bound — obliged
  11. rest — what's left
  12. face — part of the head
  13. capital — a city
  14. bound — certain
  15. race — a contest
  16. capital — money
  17. net — in sport
  18. race — the arms race
  19. face — to confront
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. bound — tied together
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. rest — what's left

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