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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. race — a contest
  4. land — a country
  5. scale — in music
  6. bound — obliged
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bound — certain
  10. land — to come down
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bound — tied together
  13. spell — letters
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. scale — size or range
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spell — magic
  22. land — ground
  23. spell — a short time
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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