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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: mark · patient · chest · cold · wax · current · stem · court

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stem — to come from
  5. chest — a box
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. mark — a grade
  8. wax — to grow
  9. current — of water
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. current — happening now
  16. court — of a king
  17. current — electric
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. court — for sport
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mark — a trace
  24. court — of law

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