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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. field — for sport
  3. pitch — completely
  4. field — a subject
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — a leader
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. perch — the fish
  9. field — farmland
  10. bound — certain
  11. hand — help
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. bound — obliged
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bound — tied together
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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