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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 120 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. net — in sport
  3. present — the time now
  4. pit — a hole
  5. capital — money
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. squash — to crush
  8. present — there
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. pit — in a race
  12. capital — a city
  13. chair — a leader
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. net — after costs
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. present — a gift
  23. squash — the sport
  24. net — for catching

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