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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 116 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: craft · patient · tear · chair · game · cell

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. craft — a skill
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. tear — from crying
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cell — in biology
  8. craft — boats
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. chair — a leader
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip

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