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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. rest — a break
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rest — what's left
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. wound — an injury
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. rest — what's left
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. coach — a trainer

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