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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mug — a cup
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. mug — to rob
  6. game — a match
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. game — wild animals
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. root — of a plant
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mug — a face
  15. kid — child
  16. lie — to recline
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. kid — to tease
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — the cause
  23. chair — a leader
  24. snap — to click

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