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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: chest · clip · board · object · staff · patient

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. chest — of your body
  3. staff — employees
  4. clip — to cut
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chest — a box
  7. object — to protest
  8. clip — a video
  9. chest — of your body
  10. object — a thing
  11. object — an aim
  12. board — to get on
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. board — a committee
  17. clip — for paper
  18. 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