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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. game — wild animals
  3. race — a contest
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. band — a ring
  6. last — final
  7. game — a match
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. last — finally
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. band — a music group
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. last — to go on
  17. cell — in biology
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. race — humankind
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. chair — a leader
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wave — of the sea

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