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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. fine — high quality
  3. degree — an amount
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. kid — child
  6. degree — from a university
  7. chest — of your body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. chest — a box
  11. rule — government
  12. pass — a permit
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. kid — to tease
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. chest — of your body
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. rule — a law
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. fine — all right
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. degree — temperature
  24. patient — a sick person

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