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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bank — for money
  4. kid — to tease
  5. race — a contest
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. kid — child
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. clip — for paper
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pit — a hole
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bank — of a river
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cell — a phone
  20. pit — in a race
  21. clip — a video
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. race — humankind
  24. bank — for money

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