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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: tube · cabinet · patient · bear · cell · cold · fine · roll

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fine — all right
  3. roll — a cake
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. fine — high quality
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. tube — a container
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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