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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. mark — a trace
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. field — a subject
  11. pop — music
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. fall — the season
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — soda
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. field — farmland
  18. mark — a grade
  19. wound — an injury
  20. field — for sport
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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