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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: wind · patient · stick · mug · bat · firm · pop · cold

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. pop — to visit
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wind — moving air
  7. firm — steady
  8. firm — decided
  9. mug — a face
  10. mug — to rob
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — soda
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. mug — a cup
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. firm — a company
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. bat — the animal
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wind — moving air
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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