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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. field — for sport
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rash — hasty
  7. chest — a box
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. swing — music
  10. kid — child
  11. chair — a leader
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. swing — to play on
  15. kid — to tease
  16. field — farmland
  17. rash — a series
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. field — a subject

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