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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: patient · fork · chest · safe · chair · fall · kid · spell

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. fall — to drop
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. fall — to drop
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. spell — magic
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. spell — a short time
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. kid — child
  16. spell — letters
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. chair — a leader
  20. fork — in a road
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fall — the season
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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