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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. field — farmland
  4. fall — to drop
  5. race — a contest
  6. rush — hurry
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. race — humankind
  10. stem — to come from
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. ground — crushed
  13. land — ground
  14. race — the arms race
  15. field — a subject
  16. land — a country
  17. cell — in biology
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. field — for sport
  20. fall — the season
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. land — to come down
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. fall — to drop

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