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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: ball · current · cold · wake · content · patient · rash · cap

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. cap — a lid
  5. content — happy
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. current — electric
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. content — the amount
  10. current — of water
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. cap — of ice
  14. rash — a series
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cap — a hat
  20. ball — a great time
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. current — happening now
  23. ball — a dance
  24. cold — the Cold War

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