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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: chair · march · kid · rash · cell · patient · current · present

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. current — of water
  3. march — the month
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cell — in biology
  7. march — music
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. cell — a phone
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. kid — to tease
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. present — there
  16. chair — a leader
  17. current — happening now
  18. present — a gift
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. current — electric
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. march — the month
  23. present — the time now
  24. kid — child

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