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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. wound — an injury
  5. prune — to trim
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pass — a permit
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. prune — to trim
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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