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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 120 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cold — an illness
  4. shower — to wash
  5. field — a subject
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. field — for sport
  11. shower — rain
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. chair — a leader
  14. field — farmland
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. cold — not warm
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. fan — a supporter

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