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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. race — a contest
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wind — moving air
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. race — humankind
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. wind — moving air

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