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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. chair — a leader
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. file — a document
  6. stem — to come from
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bark — to shout
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. file — a tool
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. march — music

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