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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. field — a subject
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wind — moving air
  6. content — happy
  7. field — for sport
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. cap — a lid
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. cap — of ice
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. content — the amount
  17. fork — in a road
  18. field — farmland
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — a stick
  22. wind — moving air
  23. staff — employees
  24. cap — a hat

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