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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. hide — to keep secret
  2. bank — for money
  3. content — happy
  4. fall — the season
  5. capital — a city
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. fall — to drop
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — of a river
  17. stand — to bear
  18. content — the amount
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. capital — money
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. fall — to drop
  23. content — videos and posts
  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