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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: patient · nail · chair · cell · pitch · shower · firm · mine

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. firm — a company
  9. cell — in biology
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. shower — rain
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. firm — steady
  15. mine — for digging
  16. pitch — completely
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. firm — decided
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. nail — for a hammer

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