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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. race — the arms race
  3. lean — thin
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. land — ground
  6. board — a committee
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. race — humankind
  10. rule — a law
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. land — to come down
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — the animal
  17. land — a country
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rule — government
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. race — a contest
  23. board — to get on
  24. wind — moving air

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