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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: chair · key · patient · spell · ruler · cell

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. spell — letters
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cell — a phone
  8. key — in music
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cell — in biology
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. key — for a lock
  16. key — the most important part
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic

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