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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. staff — employees
  4. field — for sport
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. staff — employees
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. current — of water
  12. current — electric
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. field — farmland
  18. current — happening now
  19. field — a subject
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. chair — a leader
  22. staff — a stick
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cabinet — ministers

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