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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 · bat · patient · rule · fall · wind · last · deal

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. race — the arms race
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. last — finally
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fall — the season
  9. bat — the animal
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fall — to drop
  12. rule — a law
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. race — a contest
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. last — final
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fall — to drop
  20. race — humankind
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. deal — to handle
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. last — to go 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