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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. mark — a trace
  3. race — the arms race
  4. rest — a break
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mark — a grade
  13. clip — for paper
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rush — hurry
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. clip — a video
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — a tool

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