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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.

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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: mouse · patient · wind · fall · pit · kid · race · key

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fall — to drop
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. race — humankind
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. fall — to drop
  11. race — the arms race
  12. pit — in a race
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — in music
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. race — a contest
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. pit — a hole
  21. key — the most important part
  22. fall — the season
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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