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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. perch — the fish
  3. game — a match
  4. field — a subject
  5. chair — a leader
  6. mate — a friend
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. game — wild animals
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. wax — to grow
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chip — for betting
  19. mate — a partner
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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