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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cell — in biology
  5. race — a contest
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. object — an aim
  8. rule — government
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. object — to protest
  11. cell — a phone
  12. clip — for paper
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. rule — a law
  15. wind — moving air
  16. race — humankind
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. clip — a video
  19. wind — moving air
  20. clip — to cut
  21. object — a thing
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. race — the arms race

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