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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 116 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: bat · wound · staff · last · key · cell · patient · row

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. staff — employees
  3. row — a line
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. key — the most important part
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. staff — employees
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. row — to paddle
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. last — final
  13. wound — an injury
  14. last — finally
  15. key — in music
  16. key — for a lock
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. last — to go on
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bat — the animal

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