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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: staff · cold · foot · patient · hide · content · pass · ruler

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pass — a permit
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. staff — employees
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. staff — a stick
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cold — not warm
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. content — happy
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. foot — a measure
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. cold — an illness
  24. content — the amount

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