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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. chair — a leader
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stock — shares
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. tear — from crying
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. stock — goods
  24. tear — to rip

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