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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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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: sharp · rush · chair · drill · tear · craft · bulb · patient

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rush — hurry
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. craft — a skill
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bulb — for light
  8. craft — boats
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. drill — a practice
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. tear — from crying
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. drill — army training
  24. craft — a handicraft

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