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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 120 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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. clip — a video
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. race — a contest
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. race — humankind
  8. clip — for paper
  9. kid — child
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a path
  13. kid — to tease
  14. sharp — clever
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. clip — to cut
  21. race — the arms race
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. track — a song
  24. rush — hurry

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