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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. tear — from crying
  4. race — the arms race
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. race — humankind
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mug — a cup
  9. race — a contest
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. face — part of the head
  12. mug — a face
  13. hand — in cards
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. tear — from crying
  16. face — to point toward
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. face — to confront
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. mug — to rob
  23. band — a music group
  24. hand — part of the body

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