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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. field — a subject
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. rash — a series
  9. club — for dancing
  10. field — for sport
  11. rash — hasty
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. club — a group
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. kick — in football
  21. field — farmland
  22. club — for golf
  23. dip — to sink
  24. dip — to dunk

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