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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: kid · firm · straw · patient · cold · lie · staff · race

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. firm — steady
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. race — humankind
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. firm — a company
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. staff — employees
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. kid — child
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. staff — employees
  16. kid — to tease
  17. lie — to recline
  18. firm — decided
  19. cold — not warm
  20. race — a contest
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. staff — a stick
  24. cold — an illness

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