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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. last — final
  4. tear — to rip
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. last — to go on
  9. degree — from a university
  10. degree — temperature
  11. tear — from crying
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. race — humankind
  17. tear — from crying
  18. cell — in biology
  19. race — a contest
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. degree — an amount
  22. race — the arms race
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. last — finally

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