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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. cold — not warm
  7. capital — a city
  8. march — the month
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — humankind
  13. game — wild animals
  14. race — the arms race
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. march — the month
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. cold — an illness
  22. capital — money
  23. dip — to sink
  24. march — music

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