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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: trunk · lash · shower · nail · fall · chair · clip · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  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. fall — to drop
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. shower — to wash
  9. fall — to drop
  10. clip — for paper
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. chair — a leader
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fall — the season
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. shower — rain
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. chair — a professorship
  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