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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. chair — a leader
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. row — to paddle
  7. rush — hurry
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. deal — to handle
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. content — the amount
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. pitch — completely
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. kick — in football
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. content — happy
  21. row — a line
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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