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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. board — to get on
  3. rule — government
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. race — the arms race
  10. shower — rain
  11. race — a contest
  12. cell — in biology
  13. clip — a video
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. shower — to wash
  19. rule — a law
  20. mate — a partner
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. fall — to drop
  23. board — a committee
  24. rule — to rule out

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