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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. field — a subject
  6. track — to keep track
  7. game — wild animals
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. chest — of your body
  13. game — a match
  14. track — a song
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. pass — a permit
  18. chest — a box
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. track — a path
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. chest — of your body
  24. craft — boats

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