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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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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: swing · cap · ground · patient · ball · fall · tube · present

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. ground — a position
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. swing — to play on
  7. present — there
  8. ball — a dance
  9. cap — of ice
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. ball — a great time
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fall — to drop
  14. swing — music
  15. tube — the underground
  16. present — a gift
  17. tube — a container
  18. cap — a hat
  19. swing — in golf
  20. ground — crushed
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cap — a lid
  23. ground — the earth
  24. fall — the season

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