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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. race — the arms race
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitch — completely
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mark — a trace
  15. race — humankind
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. mark — a grade
  18. rush — hurry
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wind — moving air
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. race — a contest
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. patient — a sick person

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