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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 120 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: cold · bark · chip · race · fan · cell · chest · cabinet

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. race — humankind
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. chest — a box
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. chest — of your body
  9. race — a contest
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. cell — a phone
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. cell — in biology
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cold — not warm
  18. chip — for betting
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. chip — to eat
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cabinet — ministers

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