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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 124 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. charge — in control
  3. land — a country
  4. field — for sport
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. charge — a price
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chair — a leader
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. land — to come down
  16. clip — a video
  17. land — ground
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. charge — electricity
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. fork — in a road
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — a subject
  24. fork — to eat with

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