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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 120 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: firm · patient · last · rush · bound · cold · rest · field

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. field — a subject
  4. last — to go on
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rest — what's left
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cold — not warm
  9. last — finally
  10. bound — certain
  11. bound — obliged
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. firm — decided
  14. field — for sport
  15. cold — an illness
  16. rush — hurry
  17. bound — tied together
  18. field — farmland
  19. rest — what's left
  20. firm — steady
  21. rest — a break
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. firm — a company

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