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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. race — the arms race
  3. file — a tool
  4. fall — the season
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. race — humankind
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rush — hurry
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. file — a line of people
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. race — a contest
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. file — a document
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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