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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 124 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. season — of the year
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. craft — a skill
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. root — of a word
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. craft — boats
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fall — to drop
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — in sport
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. field — farmland
  20. fork — in a road
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — the cause
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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