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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. land — a country
  3. court — of law
  4. present — the time now
  5. pop — to visit
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. court — of a king
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. land — to come down
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — music
  12. chair — a leader
  13. present — there
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wind — moving air
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. court — for sport
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. land — ground
  22. hand — help
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. present — a gift

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