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

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. last — to go on
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. kick — in football
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. perch — the fish
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. ground — crushed
  12. chair — a leader
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. ground — the earth

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