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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. spell — letters
  3. lie — to recline
  4. chair — a leader
  5. cell — in biology
  6. spell — a short time
  7. fine — all right
  8. fine — high quality
  9. cell — a phone
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. race — a contest
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. race — humankind
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — a weight
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. spell — magic
  22. fall — to drop
  23. race — the arms race
  24. fall — the season

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