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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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. cell — in biology
  3. current — happening now
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cold — an illness
  7. current — of water
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cold — not warm
  10. band — a ring
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. current — electric
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — to grow
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cell — a phone
  20. band — a music group
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. band — a rubber band

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