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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  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 — calm and waiting
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bass — the fish
  5. rash — hasty
  6. scale — size or range
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. rash — a series
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wound — an injury
  18. scale — in music
  19. race — humankind
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. race — a contest
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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