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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: hand · face · calf · land · patient · sharp · jam · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. hand — in cards
  8. land — to come down
  9. hand — help
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. sharp — clever
  13. land — a country
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to confront
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. land — ground

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