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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: squash · patient · wind · land · rash · toast · trunk · chair

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. rash — a series
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. toast — bread
  10. squash — the sport
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. wind — moving air
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. squash — to crush
  20. rash — hasty
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. chair — a leader
  24. land — a country

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