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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bore — to tire
  3. can — to be able to
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. staff — employees
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. field — for sport
  12. staff — a stick
  13. can — a tin
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. foot — a measure
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. bore — to drill
  19. rash — a series
  20. field — a subject
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. can — a tin
  23. rash — hasty
  24. staff — employees

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