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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 · cell · content · chair · bulb · chest · fall · prune

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cell — a phone
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bulb — for light
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. content — happy
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chest — of your body
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. content — the amount
  21. fall — the season
  22. chest — a box
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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