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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. band — a music group
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. drill — army training
  7. race — humankind
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. cell — in biology
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. race — a contest
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cell — a phone
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. drill — a practice
  21. race — the arms race
  22. band — a ring
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. drill — the tool

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