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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 · row · mine · pitcher · rock · bowl · tube · patient

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. tube — a container
  3. rock — music
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. tube — the underground
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. rock — a stone
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. row — to paddle
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — a contest
  18. mine — for digging
  19. row — a line
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. race — humankind
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. patient — a sick person

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