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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  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. cell — a phone
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — to get on
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cold — an illness
  6. kick — in football
  7. root — of a word
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. root — the cause
  10. wax — to grow
  11. root — of a plant
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. cold — not warm
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. board — a committee
  19. last — to go on
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. last — final
  22. cell — in biology
  23. last — finally
  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