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

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. press — to push
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. fall — to drop
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. spring — a coil
  9. club — for dancing
  10. fall — to drop
  11. spring — the season
  12. cold — not warm
  13. club — a group
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. fall — the season
  16. press — a publisher
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. spring — of water
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. club — for golf

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