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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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. land — to come down
  5. chair — a leader
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. field — a subject
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. field — for sport
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. field — farmland
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. lean — thin

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