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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: mine · rash · clip · race · patient · stick · toast · lie

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. rash — a series
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. race — humankind
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. lie — to recline
  8. race — a contest
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. mine — for digging
  13. toast — bread
  14. clip — for paper
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. clip — a video
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. race — the arms race

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