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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. fall — to drop
  7. pop — music
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. bore — gave birth

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