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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 116 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: cold · face · patient · saw · plane · content · present · wave

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. face — to point toward
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. cold — an illness
  12. present — the time now
  13. content — happy
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. face — to confront
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. face — part of the head
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. present — there
  24. content — the amount

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