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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. march — the month
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. ground — the earth
  5. march — music
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — music
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. ground — crushed
  12. rock — a stone
  13. cap — of ice
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. cap — a lid
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. chair — a leader
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. march — the month
  23. ground — a position
  24. cap — a hat

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