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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. wake — a trail
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. field — a subject
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — a contest
  9. spring — a coil
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rash — a series
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. rash — hasty
  14. race — the arms race
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. spring — the season
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. spring — of water
  19. field — for sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. field — farmland
  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