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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pit — a hole
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. kid — child
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. drill — the tool
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pit — in a race
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. cue — for pool
  13. cue — a signal
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. capital — money
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. cue — a hint
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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