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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 116 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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Word bank
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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. ground — a position
  3. file — a line of people
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. current — happening now
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. file — a tool
  9. chair — a leader
  10. mug — to rob
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the sport
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. game — wild animals
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. mug — a cup
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. current — of water
  19. current — electric
  20. ground — crushed
  21. mug — a face
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. file — a document
  24. ground — the earth

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