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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.

Make a worksheet

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: patient · last · chair · clip · drill · wind

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wind — moving air
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — a practice
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. clip — a video
  9. last — finally
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. last — to go on
  13. drill — army training
  14. last — final
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wind — moving air
  18. clip — for paper

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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