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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. last — to go on
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fall — the season
  5. last — final
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — to eat
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. chip — for betting
  12. last — finally
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. cold — an illness
  15. fall — to drop
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cell — a phone
  19. stand — to bear
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. fork — in a road
  24. cell — in biology

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