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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. hand — in cards
  3. last — final
  4. perch — the fish
  5. race — humankind
  6. stand — to bear
  7. last — to go on
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pop — music
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bear — the animal
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bear — the animal
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. last — finally
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. pop — to visit
  21. hand — help
  22. cell — in biology
  23. pop — soda
  24. bear — to put up with

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