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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cell — a phone
  4. degree — an amount
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. squash — to crush
  10. stand — to bear
  11. degree — temperature
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. squash — the sport
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. degree — from a university
  24. cold — the Cold War

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