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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: cabinet · bank · shower · clip · fine · cell · race · foot

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. race — humankind
  2. fine — high quality
  3. cell — in biology
  4. bank — for money
  5. clip — for paper
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — rain
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bank — for money
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. clip — to cut
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. clip — a video
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. bank — of a river
  22. race — a contest
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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