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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. race — the arms race
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. staff — employees
  7. can — a tin
  8. cold — an illness
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spell — magic
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. race — humankind
  13. staff — employees
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. race — a contest
  16. cold — not warm
  17. spell — a short time
  18. staff — a stick
  19. spell — letters
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. can — to be able to
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. can — a tin

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