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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. shower — to wash
  3. key — in music
  4. cap — a lid
  5. shower — rain
  6. race — humankind
  7. cap — of ice
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. rule — a law
  10. race — the arms race
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. stem — to come from
  13. cold — not warm
  14. key — the most important part
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. rule — government
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. race — a contest
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cold — an illness
  24. rule — to rule out

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