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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. fall — the season
  8. game — wild animals
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — low music
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fall — to drop
  18. chair — a leader
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. fall — to drop
  23. game — a match
  24. bass — the instrument

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