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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: chest · patient · wind · cabinet · pitch · race

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. race — humankind
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitch — completely
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. chest — a box
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. cabinet — ministers

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