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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: patient · mark · ruler · net · season · club · race · cold

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. club — a group
  3. race — humankind
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. mark — a grade
  6. club — for dancing
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. net — in sport
  11. cold — not warm
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. mark — a trace
  14. net — for catching
  15. club — for golf
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. race — a contest
  19. cold — an illness
  20. race — the arms race
  21. net — after costs
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. season — in sport
  24. ruler — for measuring

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