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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. row — a line
  3. bore — to tire
  4. field — a subject
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pitch — completely
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — boats
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. mark — a trace
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. field — for sport
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. field — farmland
  21. bore — to drill
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. mark — a grade

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