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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 120 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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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: chip · wind · chair · wax · patient · file · chest · last

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. file — a tool
  4. wax — to grow
  5. last — finally
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chip — for betting
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. file — a document
  12. wind — moving air
  13. last — final
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chest — of your body
  18. last — to go on
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. wind — moving air
  24. file — a line of people

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