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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cue · spring · mark · patient · game · suit · chest · fall

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cue — a hint
  4. spring — a coil
  5. cue — a signal
  6. chest — a box
  7. mark — a trace
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mark — a grade
  13. suit — clothes
  14. chest — of your body
  15. suit — in cards
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. spring — the season
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cue — for pool
  22. suit — to fit
  23. fall — the season
  24. spring — of water

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