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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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Word bank
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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. staff — employees
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — the arms race
  8. staff — employees
  9. field — a subject
  10. race — a contest
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — in music
  16. staff — a stick
  17. squash — the sport
  18. chair — a leader
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — farmland
  21. march — the month
  22. key — the most important part
  23. squash — to crush
  24. chair — to sit on

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