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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. land — ground
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. chair — a leader
  10. race — a contest
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. cold — not warm
  15. land — a country
  16. race — humankind
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. kick — in football
  20. land — to come down
  21. race — the arms race
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — shares

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