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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. cell — in biology
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. race — a contest
  6. kid — to tease
  7. row — a line
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. shower — rain
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. fall — to drop
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bulb — for light
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. bulb — for light
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. race — humankind
  20. stem — to come from
  21. kid — child
  22. fall — to drop
  23. shower — to wash
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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