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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 · fall · content · patient · clip · ruler · rash · tube

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. content — the amount
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — hasty
  11. cold — an illness
  12. content — happy
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. tube — the underground
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. fall — the season
  17. tube — a container
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. fall — to drop

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