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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. club — for golf
  4. chair — a leader
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. craft — boats
  8. saw — the tool
  9. lean — thin
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. club — for dancing
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. craft — a skill
  17. lean — to bend
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. club — a group

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