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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: mate · chest · land · cold · patient · wave · bank · chair

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mate — a friend
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. bank — of a river
  7. cold — not warm
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chest — a box
  11. bank — for money
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bank — for money
  16. land — to come down
  17. mate — to breed
  18. cold — an illness
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. mate — a partner
  22. land — a country
  23. chest — of your body
  24. land — ground

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