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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: stand · patient · charge · pitcher · lean · spring · cold · snap

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. charge — in control
  3. spring — of water
  4. lean — thin
  5. charge — a price
  6. stand — to bear
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. snap — to click
  9. spring — the season
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. lean — to bend
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. charge — electricity
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. lean — to rest against

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