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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. bound — tied together
  5. net — after costs
  6. bound — obliged
  7. race — humankind
  8. net — for catching
  9. drill — the tool
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. wound — an injury
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. drill — army training
  15. last — final
  16. bound — certain
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. race — the arms race
  20. last — to go on
  21. drill — a practice
  22. last — finally
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. race — a contest

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