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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. pass — a permit
  3. saw — the tool
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mine — for digging
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. track — to keep track
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. track — a path
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. track — a song
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. field — farmland
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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