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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: chest · pit · mouse · staff · rush · last · bulb · patient

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pit — a hole
  15. last — to go on
  16. bulb — for light
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. staff — employees
  20. bulb — for light
  21. last — finally
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. last — final

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