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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. field — for sport
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. mine — for digging
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. rule — a law
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. rule — government
  19. spring — a coil
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. spring — of water
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. mine — belonging to me

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