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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bank — for money
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. staff — employees
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. pitch — completely
  10. shower — rain
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. cell — in biology
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bank — for money
  15. chair — a leader
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bank — of a river
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. saw — the tool
  21. staff — employees
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. staff — a stick
  24. chair — a professorship

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