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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.

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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. field — farmland
  4. present — the time now
  5. field — for sport
  6. current — happening now
  7. present — a gift
  8. chair — a leader
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. field — a subject
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — the cause
  13. current — of water
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. current — electric
  16. root — of a word
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me

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