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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cell — a phone
  3. shower — rain
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a hint
  6. field — a subject
  7. shower — to wash
  8. can — a tin
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. staff — employees
  11. race — the arms race
  12. staff — a stick
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cue — a signal
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — for sport
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. race — humankind
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. can — to be able to
  21. can — a tin
  22. staff — employees
  23. cell — in biology
  24. race — a contest

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