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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: cell · cold · patient · wound · fine · plane · racket · kid

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wound — an injury
  6. fine — high quality
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cell — a phone
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cold — an illness
  17. kid — child
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. fine — all right
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. plane — a tool
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. cell — in a prison

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