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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: board · chair · key · row · patient · ball · cold · kick

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. cold — not warm
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. key — in music
  8. row — a line
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. board — to get on
  11. ball — a dance
  12. key — for a lock
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. kick — in football
  15. chair — a leader
  16. board — a committee
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. ball — a great time
  21. row — to paddle
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. board — a flat piece

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