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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. row — a line
  3. land — a country
  4. stock — goods
  5. field — for sport
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. land — ground
  8. swing — music
  9. row — to paddle
  10. toast — bread
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. field — a subject
  14. rest — a break
  15. stock — shares
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. field — farmland
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. land — to come down
  24. chair — a leader

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