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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. rest — a break
  4. race — a contest
  5. track — to keep track
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cell — a phone
  10. track — a path
  11. race — humankind
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. cell — in biology
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rest — what's left
  16. track — a song
  17. snap — to click
  18. rest — what's left
  19. race — the arms race
  20. rule — a law
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bat — the animal
  23. rule — government
  24. bat — in an idiom

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