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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: patient · board · rest · file · chest · degree

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. rest — what's left
  3. file — a tool
  4. board — a committee
  5. file — a line of people
  6. rest — what's left
  7. file — a document
  8. rest — a break
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. degree — from a university
  11. chest — of your body
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. degree — an amount
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. degree — temperature
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. chest — of your body

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