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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 116 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. scale — size or range
  3. fine — high quality
  4. rule — a law
  5. fine — all right
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bark — to shout
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. rule — government
  13. mate — to breed
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — a subject
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. rock — music
  21. scale — in music
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. mate — a partner
  24. field — for sport

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