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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. can — a tin
  5. cue — a hint
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a path
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. last — to go on
  12. can — to be able to
  13. chair — a leader
  14. spell — magic
  15. field — farmland
  16. track — a song
  17. last — final
  18. cue — for pool
  19. can — a tin
  20. spell — letters
  21. spell — a short time
  22. cue — a signal
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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