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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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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 · board · chest · lash · fan · scale · kid · swing

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. chest — of your body
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. scale — size or range
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. swing — music
  9. kid — child
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. board — a committee
  12. kid — to tease
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. chest — a box
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. chest — of your body
  17. swing — to play on
  18. scale — in music
  19. board — to get on
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. swing — in golf
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. patient — a sick person

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