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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 transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. chip — for betting
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — shares
  10. last — to go on
  11. tear — to rip
  12. last — finally
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. last — final
  15. tear — from crying
  16. deal — to handle
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. fork — in a road
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. chip — to eat
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. fork — a garden tool

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