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

Word bank: rock · stick · fan · date · race · cold · wave · cell

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cell — a phone
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. race — the arms race
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. cold — not warm
  12. race — humankind
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. date — the fruit
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. race — a contest
  24. cold — an illness

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