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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 120 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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. last — final
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. current — happening now
  8. current — of water
  9. chair — a leader
  10. rash — a series
  11. charge — a price
  12. charge — electricity
  13. rash — hasty
  14. current — electric
  15. last — to go on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. cell — a phone
  19. field — for sport
  20. charge — in control
  21. cell — in biology
  22. field — farmland
  23. last — finally
  24. cell — in a prison

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