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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 124 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. race — a contest
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. kid — to tease
  7. rule — a law
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. file — a tool
  10. kid — child
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. race — humankind
  15. game — a match
  16. rock — a stone
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a document
  20. rule — government
  21. rock — music
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. rock — to move gently

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