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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. band — a music group
  4. row — a line
  5. chair — a leader
  6. field — a subject
  7. kick — in football
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. row — to paddle
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. ball — a great time
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. field — for sport
  22. band — a ring
  23. ball — a dance
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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