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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. bound — tied together
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bound — certain
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. cold — not warm
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. pit — in a race
  15. net — after costs
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pit — a hole
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bound — obliged
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. arm — part of the body

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