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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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. lean — to bend
  4. fall — the season
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. shower — rain
  12. court — of a king
  13. shower — to wash
  14. court — of law
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — thin
  17. fall — to drop
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. court — for sport
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. fall — to drop
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bear — the animal
  24. chair — a leader

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