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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. kick — in football
  3. cold — not warm
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. chest — a box
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. race — humankind
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. chest — of your body
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. content — happy
  20. cold — an illness
  21. content — the amount
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. race — the arms race

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