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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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468
Word bank
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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. band — a ring
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. kid — child
  9. bear — the animal
  10. kid — to tease
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. band — a music group
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mine — for digging
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. swing — to play on
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. swing — in golf
  21. chair — a leader
  22. swing — music
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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