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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. field — a subject
  3. rash — a series
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. face — part of the head
  6. rash — hasty
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. field — for sport
  9. net — after costs
  10. field — farmland
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — a division
  14. chair — a leader
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. net — for catching
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. face — to point toward
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. face — to confront
  21. tube — a container
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. net — in sport
  24. coach — a trainer

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