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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: bound · chest · mine · wind · root · calf · present · patient

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wind — moving air
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. mine — for digging
  5. present — the time now
  6. bound — tied together
  7. present — there
  8. bound — certain
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. root — of a word
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. present — a gift
  16. root — of a plant
  17. chest — of your body
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bound — obliged
  21. chest — a box
  22. root — the cause
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. calf — a young animal

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