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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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Word bank
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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: patient · roll · cold · face · pass · object

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. 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 — calm and waiting
  2. object — a thing
  3. roll — a cake
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. face — to confront
  7. cold — an illness
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. face — part of the head
  11. roll — a list
  12. face — to point toward
  13. object — an aim
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. object — to protest
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. 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