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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. net — for catching
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. press — newspapers
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. press — a publisher
  13. net — in sport
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — size or range
  20. press — to push
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. net — after costs
  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