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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: last · race · rule · patient · court · tube · safe · fall

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. last — finally
  3. fall — to drop
  4. race — a contest
  5. rule — government
  6. court — of a king
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. tube — a container
  10. last — final
  11. fall — the season
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — the arms race
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. fall — to drop
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. court — for sport
  19. rule — a law
  20. court — of law
  21. last — to go on
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. tube — in a tire

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