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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 124 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. cell — a phone
  3. land — ground
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cap — a lid
  7. bore — to drill
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. land — to come down
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. land — a country
  17. bore — to tire
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cap — a hat
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. cap — of ice
  22. race — the arms race
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. race — a contest

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