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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. staff — employees
  3. race — a contest
  4. face — to confront
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. staff — employees
  7. cold — not warm
  8. race — humankind
  9. key — for a lock
  10. current — electric
  11. key — in music
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. current — happening now
  14. race — the arms race
  15. cold — an illness
  16. staff — a stick
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. key — the most important part
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. current — of water
  23. face — part of the head
  24. patient — a sick person

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