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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. race — a contest
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cell — in biology
  5. rock — music
  6. race — humankind
  7. rock — a stone
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. dip — to sink
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bat — the animal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cell — a phone
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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