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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. mug — a face
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. ground — a position
  9. mug — to rob
  10. field — for sport
  11. ground — crushed
  12. pound — a weight
  13. field — a subject
  14. bass — the fish
  15. field — farmland
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bass — low music
  18. mug — a cup

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