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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: nail · cell · tear · patient · ground · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. race — the arms race
  4. ground — crushed
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — a position
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. tear — from crying
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. cell — a phone
  13. tear — from crying
  14. race — humankind
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cell — in biology

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