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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. race — humankind
  8. pop — soda
  9. clip — for paper
  10. file — a line of people
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. pop — to visit
  13. foot — a measure
  14. pop — music
  15. file — a tool
  16. race — a contest
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. clip — a video
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. clip — to cut
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. file — a document

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