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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. field — a subject
  4. bass — low music
  5. field — for sport
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. net — after costs
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. wake — a trail
  10. net — for catching
  11. field — farmland
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. net — in sport
  15. bass — the fish
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wake — to stop sleeping

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