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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rash — a series
  3. chair — a leader
  4. hand — in cards
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. hand — help
  7. lie — to recline
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pop — music
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — soda
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — temperature
  18. degree — from a university
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. rash — hasty
  22. foot — a measure
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. hand — part of the body

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