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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 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. field — a subject
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. pitch — completely
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. field — farmland
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. spring — of water
  12. field — for sport
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. season — of the year
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. spring — a coil
  21. season — in sport
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. spring — 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