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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  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. patient — a sick person
  2. wake — a trail
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. season — in sport
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. season — of the year
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. cold — not warm
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. cold — an illness
  15. root — of a plant
  16. root — of a word
  17. race — humankind
  18. mark — a grade
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. root — the cause
  21. race — a contest
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. season — to add flavour
  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