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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. pop — to visit
  3. race — a contest
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. land — to come down
  6. lean — to bend
  7. land — a country
  8. cell — in biology
  9. lean — thin
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. root — of a plant
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. root — of a word
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. land — ground
  16. pop — soda
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. race — humankind
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. root — the cause
  24. pop — music

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