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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. tube — the underground
  3. rule — a law
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. tube — a container
  6. bat — the animal
  7. craft — boats
  8. race — humankind
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. craft — a skill
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. rule — government
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. race — the arms race
  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