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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
468
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 · content · cold · swing · lie · hand · cabinet · ball

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. ball — a dance
  8. content — happy
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. swing — music
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cold — not warm
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. swing — in golf
  15. lie — to recline
  16. hand — help
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. swing — to play on
  20. content — the amount
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. ball — a great time
  24. ball — a round shape

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