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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. court — of a king
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rule — a law
  8. court — of law
  9. board — a committee
  10. field — farmland
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rush — hurry
  13. ground — the earth
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. ground — a position
  17. rule — government
  18. ground — crushed
  19. chair — a leader
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — to get on
  22. field — a subject
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. court — for sport

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