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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: jam · mate · fall · present · patient · row · chair · face

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mate — a partner
  5. row — a line
  6. chair — a leader
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — to breed
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. row — to paddle
  13. face — to point toward
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. present — a gift
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. present — the time now
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. face — part of the head
  23. present — there
  24. face — to confront

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