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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cell — a phone
  4. swing — to play on
  5. cell — in biology
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. mug — to rob
  9. swing — in golf
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. staff — a stick
  15. row — to paddle
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. staff — employees
  18. mug — a cup
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. chair — a leader
  21. swing — music
  22. mug — a face
  23. date — the fruit
  24. staff — employees

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