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

Word bank: cold · deal · patient · rest · mark · last

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cold — an illness
  3. last — finally
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. deal — to handle
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — final
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mark — a grade
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cold — not warm
  14. rest — a break
  15. rest — what's left
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. mark — a trace
  18. deal — a big deal

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