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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: rest · clip · dip · prune · patient · race · cold · bound

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. race — a contest
  3. race — the arms race
  4. dip — to sink
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. bound — certain
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cold — an illness
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. prune — to trim
  12. clip — to cut
  13. race — humankind
  14. clip — a video
  15. rest — what's left
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bound — tied together
  19. rest — a break
  20. prune — to trim
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cold — not warm
  24. clip — for paper

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