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

Word bank: chest · toast · patient · scale · wake · cell

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. chest — of your body
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — in music
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wake — a trail
  10. chest — a box
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. scale — size or range
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. toast — bread

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