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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 124 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. land — a country
  9. land — ground
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. pound — a weight
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. wax — to grow
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wake — a trail
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. land — to come down

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