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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.

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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: face · foot · patient · clip · drill · stand · temple · chair

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. chair — a leader
  5. drill — a practice
  6. face — to point toward
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. clip — to cut
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. face — to confront
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. face — part of the head
  14. drill — the tool
  15. stand — to bear
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. clip — a video
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. foot — a measure
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. drill — army training
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. foot — the bottom

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