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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. squash — to crush
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. last — to go on
  8. race — humankind
  9. cold — not warm
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. squash — the sport
  12. race — a contest
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — an illness
  15. race — the arms race
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. last — finally
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. last — final
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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