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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 116 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. last — to go on
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. rule — government
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. last — final
  9. staff — employees
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. rule — a law
  12. staff — employees
  13. race — humankind
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. band — a music group
  16. race — a contest
  17. band — a ring
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. race — the arms race
  21. staff — a stick
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. last — finally

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