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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: fall · pass · spring · patient · rule · cold · face · bound

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. spring — of water
  5. face — to confront
  6. cold — an illness
  7. spring — the season
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pass — a permit
  11. face — to point toward
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — a law
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. fall — the season
  16. bound — obliged
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. cold — not warm
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. bound — certain
  23. spring — a coil
  24. face — part of the head

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