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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 116 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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. board — a committee
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. race — the arms race
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. mark — a trace
  13. fall — to drop
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. mark — a grade
  16. board — to get on
  17. cold — not warm
  18. stem — to come from
  19. race — humankind
  20. fall — the season
  21. race — a contest
  22. fall — to drop
  23. patient — a sick person
  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