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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. race — a contest
  4. spring — of water
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. clip — to cut
  8. squash — to crush
  9. cell — in biology
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. race — the arms race
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. squash — the sport
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. spring — a coil
  20. march — the month
  21. race — humankind
  22. march — music
  23. clip — a video
  24. march — the month

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