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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · row · pass · race · cell · net

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. fall — to drop
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — the arms race
  6. net — for catching
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. row — to paddle
  9. cell — a phone
  10. fall — to drop
  11. race — humankind
  12. net — after costs
  13. fall — the season
  14. pass — a permit
  15. net — in sport
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison

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