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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: cap · field · last · staff · perch · chest · cabinet · patient

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. cap — a hat
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. field — farmland
  12. last — finally
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — a stick
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. chest — a box
  18. last — to go on
  19. staff — employees
  20. cap — a lid
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. cap — of ice
  24. perch — the fish

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