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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: patient · rest · drill · scale · staff · chest · jam · wind

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. chest — a box
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — a practice
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rest — a break
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. rest — what's left
  10. chest — of your body
  11. drill — army training
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. staff — a stick
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. staff — employees
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. staff — employees
  18. scale — in music
  19. rest — what's left
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. chest — of your body
  24. scale — size or range

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