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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. race — the arms race
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. craft — a skill
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. pass — a permit
  8. race — a contest
  9. present — a gift
  10. race — humankind
  11. present — the time now
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. present — there
  14. wind — moving air
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. craft — boats

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