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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. court — for sport
  3. pass — a permit
  4. court — of law
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rush — hurry
  7. chest — of your body
  8. field — for sport
  9. field — a subject
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. court — of a king
  12. field — farmland
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. mine — for digging
  19. toast — bread
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chest — a box
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. chest — of your body

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