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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cell — a phone
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. race — the arms race
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. rule — government
  10. race — a contest
  11. rule — a law
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. staff — employees
  14. stand — to bear
  15. staff — a stick
  16. race — humankind
  17. cell — in biology
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wound — an injury
  21. staff — employees
  22. kid — child
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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