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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.

Make a worksheet

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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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 — calm and waiting
  2. squash — to crush
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. cap — a lid
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bound — certain
  7. last — final
  8. bound — tied together
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. court — of law
  11. cap — of ice
  12. wound — an injury
  13. last — to go on
  14. wound — an injury
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. court — for sport
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. squash — the sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. last — finally
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bound — obliged
  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