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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: firm · mine · patient · chest · rule · club

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — a law
  4. firm — decided
  5. rule — government
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mine — for digging
  8. chest — of your body
  9. firm — a company
  10. chest — of your body
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. chest — a box
  13. club — a group
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — for dancing

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