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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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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 · hide · patient · snap · wake · cabinet · cell · leaves

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. snap — to click
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cell — a phone
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. wake — a trail
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. chair — a leader

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