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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the sport
  5. chair — a leader
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. mark — a grade
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — the underground
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. date — the fruit
  15. march — music
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. mark — a trace
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. tube — a container
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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