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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. cold — not warm
  5. game — a match
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. charge — electricity
  12. spring — of water
  13. charge — a price
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. cold — an illness
  16. spring — the season
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. charge — in control
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. patient — a sick person

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