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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 116 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. charge — electricity
  3. cell — in biology
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. field — a subject
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. field — for sport
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. land — ground
  11. cell — a phone
  12. race — humankind
  13. land — a country
  14. field — farmland
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. charge — a price
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. fall — the season
  20. charge — in control
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. tube — the underground
  23. land — to come down
  24. tube — a container

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