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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · last · mug · hand · cell · wake · chest · patient

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. mug — a cup
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wake — a trail
  7. hand — in cards
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cell — a phone
  11. hand — help
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. last — finally
  15. march — the month
  16. mug — a face
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mug — to rob

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