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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: patient · lean · cold · temple · stick · drill · spring · season

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. drill — a practice
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cold — an illness
  7. season — of the year
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. drill — army training
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — thin
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. season — in sport
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. spring — a coil
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cold — not warm
  21. drill — the tool
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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