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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. kid — to tease
  4. spell — letters
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rock — music
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. cap — of ice
  12. spell — magic
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. field — farmland
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. rock — a stone
  18. mine — for digging
  19. cap — a hat
  20. spell — a short time
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. cap — a lid
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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