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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: straw · key · patient · board · chest · cold · season · rest

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. cold — an illness
  3. season — in sport
  4. chest — a box
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. season — of the year
  9. rest — what's left
  10. key — the most important part
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. board — a committee
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. board — to get on
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chest — of your body
  18. rest — what's left
  19. key — in music
  20. cold — not warm
  21. key — for a lock
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. chest — of your body
  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