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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: chair · ball · land · calf · bat · root · rest · patient

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rest — a break
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. land — to come down
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. rest — what's left
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. land — a country
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bat — the animal
  13. root — the cause
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — a leader
  17. land — ground
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. root — of a plant
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. rest — what's left
  23. ball — a great time
  24. root — of a word

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