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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 124 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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. march — the month
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. march — music
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. mine — for digging
  7. race — the arms race
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. lean — thin
  17. charge — electricity
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — a price
  23. march — the month
  24. mine — an explosive

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