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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. club — a group
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. rock — a stone
  6. rock — music
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. pit — in a race
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. club — for golf
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. club — for dancing
  17. pit — a hole
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. spring — the season
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. spring — of water

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