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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 120 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bound — certain
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. race — humankind
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. pop — soda
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. pop — music
  13. bound — obliged
  14. row — to paddle
  15. kick — in football
  16. cell — a phone
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. wax — to grow
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. sharp — clever
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. sharp — with an edge

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