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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: patient · sharp · tear · mine · chair · date · pitcher · chest

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. sharp — clever
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. chest — of your body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. chair — a leader
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. tear — to rip
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. tear — from crying
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. date — the fruit
  21. mine — for digging
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. sharp — with an edge

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