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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: chair · patient · chest · club · chip · bound

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. chest — a box
  3. club — for golf
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. club — a group
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. club — for dancing
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — for betting
  17. bound — obliged
  18. patient — a sick person

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