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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mine — for digging
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. field — a subject
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. net — for catching
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. roll — a list
  19. field — for sport
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. lie — to recline
  23. roll — a cake
  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