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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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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: cabinet · ruler · rest · clip · chest · patient · hand · lean

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. rest — what's left
  3. chest — of your body
  4. clip — for paper
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. lean — thin
  8. clip — a video
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. clip — to cut
  12. lean — to bend
  13. rest — a break
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. hand — in cards
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. hand — help
  24. ruler — for measuring

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