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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: cell · chair · game · file · pit · fall · object · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cell — a phone
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. file — a document
  5. object — a thing
  6. object — to protest
  7. chair — a leader
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. file — a tool
  12. game — a match
  13. object — an aim
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pit — a hole
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cell — in biology
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. game — wild animals
  23. file — a line of people
  24. fall — the season

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