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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wind — moving air
  6. race — humankind
  7. capital — a city
  8. object — an aim
  9. object — to protest
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. race — the arms race
  12. last — final
  13. race — a contest
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. object — a thing
  16. chest — a box
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. capital — money
  19. wind — moving air
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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