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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. mate — a partner
  3. race — humankind
  4. wind — moving air
  5. race — a contest
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — to visit
  9. last — to go on
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. snap — to click
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mate — a friend
  14. swing — in golf
  15. race — the arms race
  16. swing — music
  17. last — finally
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. mate — to breed
  20. swing — to play on
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. last — final
  23. pop — music
  24. wind — moving air

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