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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: last · chair · tube · clip · patient · cell · wave · stick

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. clip — a video
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. last — finally
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. last — final
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. cell — a phone
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. tube — a container
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. chair — a leader
  18. last — to go on
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. clip — for paper
  24. tube — the underground

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