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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. net — in sport
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. cold — an illness
  17. deal — to handle
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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