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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. chair — a leader
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. game — a match
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. season — in sport
  8. row — a line
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. field — for sport
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. game — wild animals
  16. season — of the year
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. field — a subject
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. row — to paddle
  24. field — farmland

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