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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: clip · rush · mouse · patient · chair · fall · cell · wax

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. rush — hurry
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cell — a phone
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. wax — to grow
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cell — in biology
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. chair — a leader
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. clip — for paper
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. patient — a sick person

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