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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ground — a position
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chest — a box
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ball — a dance
  15. saw — the tool
  16. ball — a great time
  17. pound — a weight
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. chip — to eat
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. saw — the tool

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