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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 112 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: face · chair · patient · land · game · craft · deal · wind

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. land — ground
  4. face — to confront
  5. game — a match
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. chair — a leader
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. wind — moving air
  12. deal — to handle
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. land — a country
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — part of the head
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. land — to come down
  22. wind — moving air
  23. game — wild animals
  24. wind — to turn a key

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