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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. mine — for digging
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. sharp — clever
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. saw — the tool
  20. chair — a leader
  21. saw — the tool
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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