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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 120 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bass — the fish
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bore — to tire
  11. root — of a plant
  12. chest — a box
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. chest — of your body
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. root — the cause
  18. root — of a word
  19. chest — of your body
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bass — low music
  24. perch — for a bird

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