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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · clip · patient · chair · pitcher · ball · present · land

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. land — to come down
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. land — ground
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. ball — a dance
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. clip — a video
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. ball — a great time
  20. present — there
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. land — a country
  23. clip — for paper
  24. present — a gift

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