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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 water is too ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. bound — obliged
  5. last — to go on
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — tied together
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. fall — to drop
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. last — finally
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. content — the amount
  23. last — final
  24. content — happy

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