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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: patient · cold · board · net · spring · wake · foot · tear

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. board — to get on
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. net — in sport
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. tear — from crying
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wake — a trail
  10. tear — from crying
  11. board — a committee
  12. tear — to rip
  13. net — after costs
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cold — not warm
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. foot — a measure
  19. net — for catching
  20. spring — the season
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. spring — of water
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cold — an illness

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