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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. ball — a great time
  6. squash — to crush
  7. spell — a short time
  8. race — a contest
  9. spell — letters
  10. pass — a permit
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. race — the arms race
  13. spell — magic
  14. race — humankind
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. squash — the sport
  19. rock — music
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bat — the animal
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rock — to move gently

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