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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: object · cold · bear · field · bulb · rule · clip · patient

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. cold — not warm
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. field — farmland
  9. object — to protest
  10. clip — a video
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rule — government
  13. object — an aim
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. object — a thing
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rule — a law
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. clip — for paper
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — for sport
  24. patient — a sick person

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