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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: last · mug · content · race · patient · pass · drill · ball

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. last — finally
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. mug — a face
  5. race — a contest
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. content — happy
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. last — final
  10. ball — a great time
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. drill — a practice
  13. ball — a dance
  14. race — the arms race
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. drill — army training
  17. mug — a cup
  18. race — humankind
  19. last — to go on
  20. content — the amount
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pass — a permit
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. mug — to rob

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