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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. pit — in a race
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. chair — a leader
  6. degree — an amount
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. degree — temperature
  15. season — in sport
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. season — of the year
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. pit — a hole
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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