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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chair — a leader
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cell — a phone
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. kid — to tease
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. pop — soda
  10. rock — music
  11. pop — music
  12. cell — in biology
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chest — of your body
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rock — a stone
  18. chest — a box
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. pop — to visit
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. chest — of your body
  24. jam — in traffic

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