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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. dip — to sink
  7. bulb — for light
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bulb — for light
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. lash — an eyelash

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