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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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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: rash · tube · snap · fall · scale · swing · cold · patient

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. scale — in music
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. swing — to play on
  7. fall — to drop
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. swing — in golf
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. snap — to click
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rash — a series
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. tube — a container
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. tube — the underground
  23. swing — music
  24. tube — in a tire

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