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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. race — a contest
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. race — humankind
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. net — in sport
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cell — in biology
  10. net — after costs
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. spring — the season
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bark — to shout
  18. race — the arms race
  19. lie — to recline
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. net — for catching
  22. spring — of water
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wake — a trail

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