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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pitch — completely
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bear — the animal
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. field — a subject
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. degree — an amount
  15. land — to come down
  16. degree — temperature
  17. field — for sport
  18. land — ground
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. degree — from a university
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. bear — the animal
  24. 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