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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. present — there
  3. charge — a price
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. field — farmland
  6. present — a gift
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. pit — a hole
  10. charge — electricity
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — for sport
  13. charge — in control
  14. cell — a phone
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. pound — a weight
  20. pit — in a race
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. present — the time now
  24. patient — a sick person

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