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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. cell — a phone
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. race — humankind
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. pop — soda
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. race — a contest
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. pop — to visit
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cell — in biology
  20. race — the arms race
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pop — music
  24. cold — the Cold War

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