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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cap — a lid
  3. race — the arms race
  4. net — in sport
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. can — to be able to
  8. race — a contest
  9. pass — a permit
  10. can — a tin
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. cap — a hat
  14. net — after costs
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. wind — moving air
  18. race — humankind
  19. tear — from crying
  20. can — a tin
  21. net — for catching
  22. cap — of ice
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cell — in biology

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