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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. root — of a plant
  4. rash — hasty
  5. race — humankind
  6. fall — to drop
  7. race — the arms race
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. fall — the season
  10. cold — not warm
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cell — in biology
  13. root — the cause
  14. race — a contest
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fall — to drop
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cue — a hint
  21. cue — for pool
  22. rash — a series
  23. cell — a phone
  24. root — of a word

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