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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 · wound · patient · object · chest · kick

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. object — a thing
  4. kick — in football
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. object — to protest
  7. wound — an injury
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. object — an aim
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. chair — a leader
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. chest — a box

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