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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cell — a phone
  4. suit — in cards
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. suit — to fit
  7. net — after costs
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. suit — clothes
  11. land — to come down
  12. cell — in biology
  13. land — ground
  14. wind — moving air
  15. net — in sport
  16. race — a contest
  17. land — a country
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — the arms race
  23. net — for catching
  24. wind — moving air

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