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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. land — a country
  5. rock — music
  6. cell — in biology
  7. race — the arms race
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. land — ground
  11. race — a contest
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rock — a stone
  14. land — to come down
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. cell — a phone
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chair — a leader

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