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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: race · club · patient · cell · ruler · track · kid · tear

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. cell — in biology
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. race — a contest
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. race — the arms race
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cell — a phone
  12. kid — to tease
  13. club — for dancing
  14. tear — from crying
  15. race — humankind
  16. kid — child
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. track — a song
  19. track — to keep track
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. club — a group
  24. track — a path

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