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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 · pound · patient · cell · current · cue

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. chest — a box
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. cue — a signal
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. current — of water
  11. current — happening now
  12. cue — for pool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pound — a weight
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. cell — in biology
  18. current — electric

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