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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. field — farmland
  3. kick — in football
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bat — the animal
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. field — a subject
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. field — for sport
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — certain
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. track — a song
  24. track — a path

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