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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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. cap — of ice
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bank — for money
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cap — a hat
  8. hand — help
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bank — of a river
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. shower — to wash
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bank — for money
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. saw — the tool
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cap — a lid
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bat — the animal
  23. shower — rain
  24. hand — in cards

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