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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. key — the most important part
  3. race — a contest
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the sport
  6. rule — a law
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cap — a hat
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. cap — a lid
  12. field — farmland
  13. cap — of ice
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. field — for sport
  16. fall — to drop
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. race — humankind
  20. key — in music
  21. rule — government
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. field — a subject
  24. key — for a lock

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