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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
468
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: hand · date · cabinet · can · wind · cell · patient · trunk

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cell — a phone
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. can — a tin
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — the fruit
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. hand — help
  17. can — a tin
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wind — moving air
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. wind — moving air
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. hand — in cards

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