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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: patient · game · leaves · chair · file · clip · drill · cap

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. cap — a hat
  4. clip — to cut
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. file — a tool
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. drill — the tool
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. cap — a lid
  16. file — a document
  17. clip — a video
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chair — a leader
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cap — of ice
  22. drill — army training
  23. clip — for paper
  24. drill — a practice

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