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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 120 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: patient · drill · face · straw · saw · cue · race · cold

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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 — a contest
  2. race — humankind
  3. race — the arms race
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. cue — a hint
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — part of the head
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. drill — army training
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. saw — the tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. drill — a practice
  19. cue — for pool
  20. drill — the tool
  21. cue — a signal
  22. face — to confront
  23. cold — not warm
  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