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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: band · wake · content · cell · mate · roll · patient · fall

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. fall — to drop
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cell — a phone
  5. band — a music group
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. cell — in biology
  9. mate — a partner
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. band — a ring
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. fall — the season
  14. content — the amount
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. content — happy
  20. roll — a list
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. wake — a trail
  23. roll — a cake
  24. cell — in a prison

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