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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 120 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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. rule — a law
  8. bass — the fish
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. stem — to come from
  13. staff — employees
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. mine — for digging
  16. field — a subject
  17. rule — government
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — a leader
  22. field — for sport
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bass — low music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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