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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 · patient · game · rest · sharp · mark · wind · track

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. track — a path
  4. mark — a grade
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. track — to keep track
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. rest — what's left
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. sharp — clever
  18. game — wild animals
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. rest — what's left
  21. track — a song
  22. game — a match
  23. mark — a trace
  24. rest — a break

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