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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. last — final
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. last — to go on
  5. game — wild animals
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. plane — a tool
  9. spell — a short time
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. field — for sport
  12. snap — to click
  13. last — finally
  14. field — farmland
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. spell — letters
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. game — a match
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. spell — magic

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