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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.

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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. race — a contest
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. pass — a permit
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. race — humankind
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. race — the arms race
  12. tube — the underground
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. spring — a coil
  19. capital — a city
  20. wake — a trail
  21. spring — of water
  22. tube — a container
  23. capital — money
  24. tube — in a tire

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