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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: cold · rock · lie · tube · present · patient · fine · toast

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. present — a gift
  5. cold — not warm
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. tube — a container
  12. lie — to recline
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — high quality
  15. toast — bread
  16. present — there
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cold — an illness
  21. present — the time now
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. fine — all right

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