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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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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. court — of law
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wind — moving air
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. chair — a leader
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. court — of a king
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wind — moving air
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. fall — to drop
  19. court — for sport
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. fall — the season
  24. chair — to sit on

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