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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. file — a line of people
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. wax — to grow
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — an illness
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cell — in biology
  14. chest — a box
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pass — a permit

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