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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chest — a box
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. squash — the sport
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. rock — a stone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. squash — to crush
  11. rock — music
  12. cell — a phone
  13. race — the arms race
  14. plane — a tool
  15. race — a contest
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cell — in biology
  24. race — humankind

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