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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. chair — a leader
  3. land — ground
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. net — in sport
  6. land — to come down
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rest — what's left
  10. roll — a list
  11. net — after costs
  12. rash — a series
  13. net — for catching
  14. roll — a cake
  15. rest — a break
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. ground — the earth
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rest — what's left
  20. land — a country
  21. ground — a position
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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