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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. spring — the season
  3. spell — magic
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. spell — letters
  7. cue — a signal
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. shower — rain
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spell — a short time
  12. perch — the fish
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cue — a hint
  15. race — a contest
  16. shower — to wash
  17. cue — for pool
  18. spring — of water
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. race — the arms race
  21. cell — a phone
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. cell — in biology
  24. coach — a trainer

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