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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. kid — child
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. pound — a weight
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a leader
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bowl — to roll
  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