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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 124 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. field — a subject
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — to bear
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. field — for sport
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rest — a break
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. wake — a trail
  16. rest — what's left
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. roll — a list
  20. roll — a cake
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. mine — for digging
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. vault — a safe

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