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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to spend time
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pass — a permit
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. net — in sport
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. court — of a king
  14. net — for catching
  15. game — wild animals
  16. capital — a city
  17. ground — crushed
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. net — after costs
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. game — a match
  22. capital — money
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a leader

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