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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's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. kid — child
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mine — for digging
  5. sharp — clever
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. fall — the season
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. kid — to tease

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