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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. drill — army training
  3. field — for sport
  4. file — a line of people
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. drill — a practice
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. season — of the year
  9. field — a subject
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. file — a tool
  12. content — the amount
  13. field — farmland
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. drill — the tool
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. rush — hurry
  18. plane — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. content — happy

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