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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. last — final
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. vault — a safe
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. tear — from crying
  8. squash — to crush
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. mate — a partner
  12. chair — a leader
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. mate — to breed
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. squash — the sport
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tear — from crying
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tube — a container
  23. last — to go on
  24. last — finally

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