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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mine — for digging
  3. tear — to rip
  4. track — a song
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. track — a path
  14. track — to keep track
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. saw — the tool
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — to bend
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. chair — a leader

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