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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. game — a match
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. kick — in football
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. squash — the sport
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. squash — to crush
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. chair — a leader
  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