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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. rule — a law
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wind — moving air
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. present — a gift
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. present — the time now
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — government
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chair — a leader
  20. cold — not warm
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bulb — for light
  23. present — there
  24. chair — to sit on

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