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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  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. field — a subject
  2. chair — a leader
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. net — after costs
  6. game — a match
  7. net — for catching
  8. field — farmland
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wake — a trail
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. chip — for betting
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. chip — to eat
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. field — for sport
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. net — in sport
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  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