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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. cell — a phone
  3. field — farmland
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. squash — to crush
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chair — a leader
  10. stand — to bear
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cell — in biology

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