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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. squash — the sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. lean — to bend
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. field — farmland
  11. lean — thin
  12. field — for sport
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. sharp — clever
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bass — the fish
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. squash — to crush
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. bass — low music
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. game — wild animals

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