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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: stand · chest · cabinet · tear · bat · patient · bear · hide

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. chest — a box
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tear — to rip
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. tear — from crying
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stand — to bear
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bear — to put up with

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