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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. race — humankind
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. track — to keep track
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. toast — bread
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. track — a song
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cold — an illness
  15. track — a path
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. wind — moving air
  18. race — a contest
  19. bound — tied together
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bound — obliged
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bound — certain

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