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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 120 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: patient · bay · cabinet · tear · coach · chest

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. tear — from crying
  4. chest — a box
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. chest — of your body
  11. tear — to rip
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. cabinet — a cupboard

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