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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. current — of water
  3. firm — decided
  4. rest — what's left
  5. capital — a city
  6. bark — to shout
  7. chair — a leader
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. current — electric
  10. current — happening now
  11. firm — a company
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. capital — money
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. firm — steady
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. rest — a break
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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