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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 124 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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mine — for digging
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. hand — in cards
  6. chair — a leader
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. land — a country
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. land — ground
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. vault — a safe
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. lean — to bend
  19. hand — help
  20. land — to come down
  21. lean — thin
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. toast — bread
  24. mine — an explosive

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