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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: row · club · chair · patient · bound · cell · ruler · craft

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. row — a line
  3. cell — a phone
  4. club — for golf
  5. craft — a skill
  6. row — to paddle
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. bound — tied together
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bound — certain
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bound — obliged
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for dancing
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. craft — boats

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