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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: patient · board · craft · spring · hand · kid · stand · staff

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. staff — employees
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. craft — a skill
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. spring — the season
  8. kid — child
  9. hand — help
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. spring — a coil
  12. hand — in cards
  13. craft — boats
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. spring — of water
  16. staff — a stick
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. kid — to tease
  19. board — a committee
  20. staff — employees
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. stand — to bear
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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