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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: wind · chair · patient · fall · bore · content

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. fall — to drop
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wind — moving air
  9. content — happy
  10. bore — to drill
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bore — to tire
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. fall — to drop
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. content — the amount
  18. fall — the season

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