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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 · last · ball · tear · toast · wake · cold · pitcher

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. cold — an illness
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. last — to go on
  6. toast — bread
  7. tear — to rip
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. tear — from crying
  12. ball — a great time
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. ball — a dance
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. last — final
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. last — finally
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wake — a trail

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