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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. cell — in biology
  3. can — a tin
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — humankind
  6. wound — an injury
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. cell — a phone
  10. can — to be able to
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. can — a tin
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. wound — an injury
  16. lean — to bend
  17. mark — a trace
  18. sharp — clever
  19. mark — a grade
  20. race — the arms race
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. march — music

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