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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — a phone
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rule — a law
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. pound — a weight
  8. mine — for digging
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. race — a contest
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rule — government
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. rest — a break
  16. race — humankind
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. cell — in biology
  19. capital — a city
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. capital — money
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rest — what's left
  24. race — the arms race

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