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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: stick · cold · net · spring · wave · game · patient · ruler

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. cold — not warm
  4. net — for catching
  5. game — a match
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. spring — the season
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. net — after costs
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. game — wild animals
  20. net — in sport
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. spring — of water
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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