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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: charge · fork · race · land · stick · patient · cold · key

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. race — humankind
  4. land — a country
  5. charge — a price
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cold — an illness
  11. race — a contest
  12. race — the arms race
  13. charge — in control
  14. key — in music
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. charge — electricity
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. fork — in a road
  21. cold — not warm
  22. key — the most important part
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. key — for a lock

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