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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  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. lash — a whip stroke
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. drill — the tool
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. court — of a king
  8. content — happy
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. chair — a leader
  12. sharp — clever
  13. court — for sport
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. content — the amount
  17. swing — in golf
  18. court — of law
  19. swing — to play on
  20. drill — a practice
  21. drill — army training
  22. swing — music
  23. patient — a sick person
  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