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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'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. bank — for money
  2. swing — to play on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. chest — a box
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bank — of a river
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. stand — to bear
  15. bulb — for light
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bank — for money
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chest — of your body
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. swing — music
  23. cold — an illness
  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