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

Word bank: net · cell · fork · rule · ground · chair · patient · fine

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. net — in sport
  3. ground — a position
  4. net — for catching
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. cell — in biology
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. cell — a phone
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. ground — crushed
  15. fine — high quality
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — government
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — all right
  21. ground — the earth
  22. fork — in a road
  23. net — after costs
  24. rule — to rule out

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