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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. field — for sport
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. roll — a list
  7. field — a subject
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. ground — crushed
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. hand — in cards
  14. rest — what's left
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. ground — a position
  17. hand — help
  18. ground — the earth
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. field — farmland
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. trunk — of a tree

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