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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chest — of your body
  3. field — a subject
  4. swing — in golf
  5. swing — music
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chest — a box
  8. capital — a city
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chest — of your body
  11. field — for sport
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bulb — for light
  14. field — farmland
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. capital — money
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. foot — a measure
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. swing — to play on
  24. foot — part of the body

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