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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 are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. charge — electricity
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. race — the arms race
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. stem — to come from
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. land — a country
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. charge — a price
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — a contest
  18. charge — in control
  19. shower — to wash
  20. season — of the year
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. season — in sport
  24. shower — rain

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