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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 116 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. hand — help
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. vault — a safe
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. swing — in golf
  10. sharp — clever
  11. board — to get on
  12. firm — steady
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. firm — a company
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. field — farmland
  17. board — a committee
  18. hand — in cards
  19. swing — music
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. chair — a leader
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — a subject

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