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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: chair · cold · bulb · nail · leaves · field · lie · patient

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. field — farmland
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chair — a leader
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cold — an illness
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cold — not warm
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. lie — to recline
  20. bulb — for light
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — a subject

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