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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. chip — to eat
  3. key — in music
  4. chip — for betting
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. key — the most important part
  8. race — a contest
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. race — humankind
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. tear — from crying
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. prune — to trim
  18. tear — to rip
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tear — from crying
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. key — for a lock
  24. race — the arms race

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