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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bear — the animal
  5. band — a music group
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cold — an illness
  10. race — the arms race
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — a group
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. race — a contest
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. race — humankind
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. band — a ring
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. club — for dancing
  24. chair — a leader

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