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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: nail · fall · patient · cap · cold · wound · kid · lie

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cap — a hat
  8. wound — an injury
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. lie — to recline
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. cap — a lid
  15. fall — to drop
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. cold — an illness
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. cold — not warm
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. lie — an untruth

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