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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. suit — clothes
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hand — help
  9. saw — the tool
  10. bat — the animal
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. suit — in cards
  14. squash — to crush
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. chair — a leader
  20. hand — in cards
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. patient — a sick person
  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