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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cold — not warm
  3. ball — a dance
  4. race — the arms race
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pass — a permit
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. cell — a phone
  9. stem — to come from
  10. ball — a great time
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. race — a contest
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. race — humankind
  16. cell — in biology
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. cold — an illness
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. cell — in a prison

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