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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cold — not warm
  7. tube — a container
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. perch — the fish
  13. rock — a stone
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chair — a leader
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. tube — the underground
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rock — music
  24. patient — a sick person

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