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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. tear — to rip
  7. cap — a hat
  8. race — a contest
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cap — of ice
  11. snap — to click
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. date — the fruit
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. race — the arms race
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — hasty
  21. race — humankind
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. cap — a lid
  24. tear — from crying

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