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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. net — after costs
  8. row — to paddle
  9. net — in sport
  10. race — humankind
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. content — the amount
  15. net — for catching
  16. race — a contest
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. race — the arms race
  20. content — happy
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. roll — a cake
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. roll — on a roll

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