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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 116 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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. race — the arms race
  3. race — a contest
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. scale — size or range
  7. scale — in music
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rash — hasty
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. spring — a coil
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — to shout
  17. mate — a partner
  18. fork — in a road
  19. race — humankind
  20. mate — a friend
  21. rash — a series
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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