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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. swing — music
  6. field — a subject
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bound — certain
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. field — for sport
  11. swing — to play on
  12. swing — in golf
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — tied together
  18. deal — to handle
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. perch — the fish
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. field — farmland
  24. dip — to sink

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