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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 120 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: last · board · patient · cabinet · mine · bear · lash · chair

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. last — final
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. board — to get on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. bear — the animal
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bear — the animal
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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