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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. field — for sport
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. band — a music group
  7. face — part of the head
  8. ground — crushed
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. face — to point toward
  11. spring — a coil
  12. chair — a leader
  13. saw — the tool
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. ground — a position
  16. ground — the earth
  17. field — farmland
  18. face — to confront
  19. spring — the season
  20. field — a subject
  21. saw — the tool
  22. band — a ring
  23. spring — of water
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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