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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: board · patient · race · tear · cue · wound · content · bat

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cue — for pool
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. tear — to rip
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cue — a hint
  10. race — the arms race
  11. content — the amount
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tear — from crying
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. race — humankind
  17. content — happy
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. board — a committee
  21. cue — a signal
  22. wound — an injury
  23. race — a contest
  24. board — to get on

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