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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chair — a leader
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. file — a line of people
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. file — a tool
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. stand — to bear
  17. clip — to cut
  18. field — farmland
  19. file — a document
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — for paper
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — a subject

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