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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. charge — in control
  3. face — to point toward
  4. field — a subject
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — size or range
  7. face — part of the head
  8. charge — a price
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. band — a ring
  11. chair — a leader
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. face — to confront
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. charge — electricity
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland

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