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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: staff · mine · wind · cell · patient · row · mate · plane

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. staff — a stick
  3. mate — to breed
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cell — a phone
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. staff — employees
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mate — a friend
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. plane — a tool
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wind — moving air
  20. row — a line
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wind — moving air
  23. staff — employees
  24. mine — for digging

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