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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 120 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: chair · wound · patient · scale · trunk · rash · spring · rush

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. spring — of water
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wound — an injury
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wound — an injury
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. chair — a leader
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. rush — hurry
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. scale — in music
  19. spring — the season
  20. rash — hasty
  21. scale — size or range
  22. rash — a series
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. chair — a professorship

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