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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 · file · ball · wound · cabinet · patient · land

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. land — a country
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. land — to come down
  9. file — a tool
  10. wound — an injury
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. wound — an injury
  15. file — a document
  16. land — ground
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ball — a great time
  21. file — a line of people
  22. ball — a dance
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cold — an illness

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