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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
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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: wake · bowl · content · cold · patient · mine · rash · game

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. game — a match
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. wake — a trail
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. game — wild animals
  16. content — the amount
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. content — happy
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bowl — to roll

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