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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. craft — a skill
  3. mug — a face
  4. field — for sport
  5. cell — in biology
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. field — a subject
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. chair — a leader
  12. capital — money
  13. craft — boats
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. present — there
  16. field — farmland
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. vault — a safe
  20. present — the time now
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. cell — a phone
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — to rob

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