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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. race — a contest
  3. game — a match
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. kid — child
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. rush — hurry
  12. game — wild animals
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cold — an illness
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. race — humankind
  21. kid — to tease
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. race — the arms race

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