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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. chip — to eat
  5. field — for sport
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rush — hurry
  9. bass — the fish
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bass — low music
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. ground — the earth
  17. tube — the underground
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. ground — crushed
  21. chair — a leader
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. ground — a position

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