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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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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: fall · cell · chair · mouse · patient · bat · pitcher · band

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. band — a ring
  8. cell — in biology
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. band — a music group
  12. chair — a leader
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fall — the season
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cell — a phone
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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