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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 120 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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cue — a hint
  4. cue — a signal
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cue — for pool
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. chair — a leader
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. tear — to rip
  16. row — to paddle
  17. tear — from crying
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. tear — from crying
  22. row — a line
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. calf — a young animal

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