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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stand · patient · kid · swing · cell · rule

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. rule — a law
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. rule — government
  6. swing — in golf
  7. kid — to tease
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. cell — a phone
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. kid — child
  18. 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