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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: chair · patient · bat · season · staff · fine · drill · scale

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. chair — a leader
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. drill — army training
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. staff — a stick
  10. staff — employees
  11. drill — the tool
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. fine — high quality
  14. season — in sport
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fine — all right
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. drill — a practice
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. staff — employees

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