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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. mine — for digging
  3. chest — a box
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. saw — the tool
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. craft — a skill
  12. court — for sport
  13. chair — a leader
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. craft — boats
  16. saw — the tool
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. court — of law
  19. chest — of your body
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. court — of a king
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chip — to eat

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