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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cold — an illness
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. race — the arms race
  7. staff — employees
  8. bound — certain
  9. race — humankind
  10. bound — obliged
  11. ground — a position
  12. staff — employees
  13. dip — to sink
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. pit — a hole
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. race — a contest
  20. pit — in a race
  21. staff — a stick
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bound — tied together
  24. cold — not warm

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