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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. key — the most important part
  3. march — the month
  4. bat — the animal
  5. row — a line
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. row — to paddle
  8. key — in music
  9. race — the arms race
  10. key — for a lock
  11. cell — in biology
  12. march — the month
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. roll — a list
  15. cell — a phone
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. march — music
  18. race — humankind
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. roll — a cake
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. race — a contest
  24. cell — in a prison

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