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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. cell — a phone
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. season — of the year
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — music
  8. march — music
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. ground — a position
  11. bound — tied together
  12. season — in sport
  13. march — the month
  14. bound — certain
  15. bound — obliged
  16. ground — crushed
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. march — the month
  22. cell — in biology
  23. swing — to play on
  24. ground — the earth

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