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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. chair — a leader
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. suit — in cards
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — in sport
  7. lean — thin
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. file — a line of people
  12. net — after costs
  13. file — a document
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. file — a tool
  17. lean — to bend
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. foot — a measure
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. suit — clothes
  22. suit — to fit
  23. bat — the animal
  24. patient — a sick person

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