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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. shower — rain
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rest — a break
  5. content — happy
  6. rest — what's left
  7. race — the arms race
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. race — a contest
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cold — not warm
  12. snap — to click
  13. mate — a partner
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. content — the amount
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. mate — to breed
  18. race — humankind
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. mate — a friend
  22. rest — what's left
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. shower — to wash

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