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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. chair — a leader
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. net — for catching
  7. rash — a series
  8. net — in sport
  9. cap — a hat
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — for sport
  12. cap — of ice
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. cap — a lid
  16. bulb — for light
  17. net — after costs
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. court — of law
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. hide — to keep secret

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