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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. rest — what's left
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. field — a subject
  7. mark — a trace
  8. staff — employees
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a grade
  12. rest — a break
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. staff — a stick
  16. wind — moving air
  17. field — farmland
  18. staff — employees
  19. rest — what's left
  20. chair — a leader
  21. field — for sport
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. wake — a trail

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