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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rock · hand · patient · mark · cold · bear · current · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. bear — the animal
  6. fall — the season
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. cold — an illness
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. current — happening now
  11. fall — to drop
  12. hand — help
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. current — of water
  16. current — electric
  17. mark — a grade
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — a stone
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bear — the animal
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mark — a trace
  24. patient — a sick person

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