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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. roll — a list
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. mine — for digging
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. field — a subject
  11. net — after costs
  12. chair — a leader
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. field — farmland
  15. net — for catching
  16. field — for sport
  17. net — in sport
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. roll — a cake
  20. vault — a safe
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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