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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. race — humankind
  6. squash — to crush
  7. object — a thing
  8. object — an aim
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. tear — from crying
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — to rip
  14. squash — the sport
  15. race — the arms race
  16. file — a tool
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. file — a document
  20. object — to protest
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. file — a line of people

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