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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 116 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cap — a hat
  5. lean — to bend
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bear — the animal
  8. lean — thin
  9. bark — to shout
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. field — for sport
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. cell — in biology
  14. field — farmland
  15. cap — a lid
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. field — a subject
  24. ball — a great time

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