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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. cold — an illness
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. race — humankind
  10. ball — a dance
  11. tube — a container
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. bear — the animal
  15. tube — the underground
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. pop — soda
  18. race — the arms race
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. race — a contest
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. ball — a round shape

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