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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: stand · patient · kid · swing · cell · rule · bulb · fan

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. cell — a phone
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rule — government
  8. kid — child
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. kid — to tease
  23. swing — music
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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