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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 120 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. race — a contest
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. scale — size or range
  11. track — a path
  12. swing — to play on
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. swing — in golf
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. pass — a permit
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. swing — music
  20. track — a song
  21. race — humankind
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. race — the arms race
  24. scale — in music

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