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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: cell · patient · ground · chair · file · rock · snap · temple

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rock — music
  3. cell — in biology
  4. file — a tool
  5. ground — the earth
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. ground — a position
  10. cell — a phone
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. file — a document
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. snap — to click
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. file — a line of people
  21. rock — a stone
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. ground — crushed

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