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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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. drill — a practice
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. race — humankind
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. mate — to breed
  7. row — a line
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. spring — a coil
  10. race — a contest
  11. spring — of water
  12. mate — a partner
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. scale — in music
  15. spring — the season
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. row — to paddle
  18. scale — size or range
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. drill — the tool
  21. race — the arms race
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. drill — army training
  24. mate — a friend

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