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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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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: chair · bat · suit · tube · mine · patient · object · shower

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. shower — to wash
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. tube — a container
  5. suit — to fit
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. object — to protest
  10. shower — rain
  11. object — an aim
  12. chair — a leader
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bat — the animal
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. suit — in cards
  20. suit — clothes
  21. object — a thing
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. patient — a sick person

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