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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: stick · chest · patient · clip · object · game · stand · content

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. stand — to bear
  4. content — the amount
  5. chest — of your body
  6. clip — for paper
  7. content — happy
  8. object — a thing
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. chest — a box
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — an aim
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. game — a match
  18. game — wild animals
  19. chest — of your body
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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