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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 120 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: nail · staff · patient · current · cold · rush · fine · chair

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. current — happening now
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. staff — employees
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. staff — employees
  12. chair — a leader
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. staff — a stick
  15. current — electric
  16. rush — hurry
  17. fine — all right
  18. current — of water
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — not warm
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. nail — on a finger

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