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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. toast — bread
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. field — for sport
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. field — a subject
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. field — farmland
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. season — in sport
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — a city
  21. chair — a leader
  22. sharp — clever
  23. capital — money
  24. sharp — exactly

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