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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 · patient · fall · cue · bat · roll · rule · sharp

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rule — a law
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — clever
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. race — humankind
  9. fall — the season
  10. roll — a list
  11. roll — a cake
  12. cue — for pool
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — a signal
  18. rule — government
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — the animal
  21. race — the arms race
  22. fall — to drop
  23. race — a contest
  24. bat — in an idiom

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