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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. sharp — clever
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. race — humankind
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. rule — a law
  19. wind — moving air
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. race — a contest
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. race — the arms race
  24. rule — government

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