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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. track — a path
  3. track — to keep track
  4. field — a subject
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. charge — in control
  8. spell — magic
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. game — wild animals
  13. charge — a price
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. field — for sport
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. track — a song
  19. charge — electricity
  20. spell — letters
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. spell — a short time
  23. field — farmland
  24. lash — to lash out

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