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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. land — a country
  3. land — to come down
  4. ground — the earth
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a committee
  8. ground — crushed
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. ground — a position
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. chair — a leader
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. land — ground
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bowl — a dish

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