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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: game · bound · cue · patient · chair · mine · clip · rush

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. cue — for pool
  4. rush — hurry
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. game — a match
  10. chair — a leader
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. mine — for digging
  14. cue — a hint
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. cue — a signal
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bound — obliged
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bound — certain
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. bound — tied together
  23. clip — to cut
  24. chair — to sit on

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