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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. net — for catching
  4. cue — a signal
  5. chair — a leader
  6. net — in sport
  7. field — for sport
  8. club — for dancing
  9. field — farmland
  10. club — for golf
  11. net — after costs
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. foot — a measure
  15. club — a group
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cue — a hint
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. bat — the animal
  21. field — a subject
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — in biology

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