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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. kid — child
  3. mark — a trace
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. prune — to trim
  6. cold — not warm
  7. race — humankind
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — music
  11. race — a contest
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. cell — a phone
  20. kid — to tease
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cell — in biology

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