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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. rash — hasty
  6. ball — a dance
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rule — government
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. chair — a leader
  18. ball — a great time
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. rash — a series
  21. rule — a law
  22. wind — moving air
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. patient — a sick person

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