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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bass — the fish
  4. row — to paddle
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. race — humankind
  7. row — a line
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bat — the animal
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. race — a contest
  14. bass — low music
  15. track — a song
  16. track — a path
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. pit — a hole
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. pit — in a race
  21. race — the arms race
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bat — in an idiom

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