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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 · cell · bass · wind · fall · stand · net · patient

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bass — low music
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. fall — to drop
  8. net — for catching
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. object — to protest
  13. net — after costs
  14. net — in sport
  15. object — a thing
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cell — a phone
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. object — an aim
  21. fall — the season
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bass — the instrument
  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