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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. craft — a skill
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. present — a gift
  7. present — there
  8. craft — boats
  9. present — the time now
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. scale — in music
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. rush — hurry
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. scale — size or range
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. cold — an illness
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. snap — to click

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