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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. net — for catching
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. race — the arms race
  9. net — in sport
  10. pit — in a race
  11. net — after costs
  12. object — to protest
  13. season — in sport
  14. cell — in biology
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — an aim
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. pit — a hole
  19. bat — the animal
  20. race — humankind
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. race — a contest
  23. season — of the year
  24. fan — a supporter

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