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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. charge — electricity
  4. charge — in control
  5. charge — a price
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bark — to shout
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. chest — of your body
  16. game — a match
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. chest — a box
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. chest — of your body
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bark — of a tree

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