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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. kid — child
  8. rule — a law
  9. kid — to tease
  10. club — for dancing
  11. degree — temperature
  12. club — for golf
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stock — shares
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. club — a group
  21. chair — a leader
  22. rule — government
  23. degree — an amount
  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