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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 116 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
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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: patient · straw · land · race · squash · can · march · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. squash — to crush
  3. land — ground
  4. march — the month
  5. race — the arms race
  6. land — a country
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. race — humankind
  9. march — music
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — a tin
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. can — to be able to
  15. race — a contest
  16. march — the month
  17. land — to come down
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. squash — the sport
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. lean — thin
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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