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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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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. saw — the tool
  4. rash — a series
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wax — to grow
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. cold — an illness
  15. chair — a leader
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bat — the animal
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rash — hasty

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