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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. bulb — for light
  4. shower — rain
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. clip — a video
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. bulb — for light
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. clip — for paper
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. clip — to cut
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. shower — to wash
  24. land — a country

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