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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. rush — hurry
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. spell — magic
  6. rock — music
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. tube — a container
  10. fine — all right
  11. tube — the underground
  12. spell — letters
  13. saw — the tool
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. fine — high quality
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rock — a stone
  24. spell — a short time

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