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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. cap — a hat
  3. chair — a leader
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. sharp — clever
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a list
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. roll — a cake
  11. branch — a division
  12. cap — of ice
  13. field — for sport
  14. cap — a lid
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bass — low music
  17. field — a subject
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. bass — the fish
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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