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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: rest · patient · kid · pit · net · charge · chair · cell

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. charge — in control
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. kid — to tease
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pit — a hole
  11. net — for catching
  12. charge — a price
  13. charge — electricity
  14. net — in sport
  15. cell — a phone
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pit — in a race
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rest — a break
  22. net — after costs
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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