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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: ruler · temple · patient · stand · stock · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. stand — to bear
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stock — shares
  13. stock — goods
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. cold — the Cold War
  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