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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. cell — a phone
  3. land — to come down
  4. race — a contest
  5. bat — the animal
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. land — ground
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. race — humankind
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. land — a country
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. stem — to come from
  18. cell — in biology
  19. degree — temperature
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. dip — to sink

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