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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. charge — a price
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ball — a dance
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. charge — electricity
  12. race — humankind
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a great time
  16. present — there
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — the arms race
  20. charge — in control
  21. present — a gift
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. present — the time now

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