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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. chair — a leader
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pop — to visit
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. snap — to click
  17. sharp — clever
  18. rule — government
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — music
  21. rule — a law
  22. bark — to shout
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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