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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: saw · chair · shower · mine · mouse · cell · march · patient

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. march — music
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. mine — for digging
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. shower — rain
  21. cell — in biology
  22. shower — to wash
  23. cell — a phone
  24. march — the month

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