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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 120 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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. drill — a practice
  3. field — a subject
  4. ball — a great time
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. field — for sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chair — a leader
  11. present — a gift
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. perch — the fish
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ball — a dance
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. chest — a box
  19. squash — the sport
  20. present — there
  21. squash — to crush
  22. chest — of your body
  23. field — farmland
  24. chair — to sit on

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