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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: race · bay · stick · sharp · wind · deal · chest · patient

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. race — humankind
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. chest — a box
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. race — a contest
  13. deal — to handle
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. sharp — clever
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wind — moving air
  21. race — the arms race
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. wind — to turn a key

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