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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. shower — rain
  6. chair — a leader
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. squash — to crush
  10. shower — to wash
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — the underground
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. net — for catching
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. squash — the sport
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. tube — a container

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