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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cap — a hat
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. hand — help
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ball — a great time
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cap — of ice
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. cell — in biology
  20. hand — in cards
  21. tube — a container
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. tear — from crying

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