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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 · march · kid · rash · cell · patient

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — child
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rash — hasty
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. march — the month
  13. rash — a series
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. kid — to tease

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