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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 116 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 · march · chair · stick · bound · patient · pop · safe

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pop — music
  6. march — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. bound — certain
  9. march — the month
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. bound — obliged
  15. chair — a leader
  16. march — the month
  17. bound — tied together
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. pop — to visit
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. cell — a phone
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. cell — in biology

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