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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. chair — a leader
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. spell — magic
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. spell — letters
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. kid — child
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rash — a series
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. game — a match
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. rash — hasty
  19. kid — to tease
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. bat — in an idiom

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