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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. field — a subject
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rule — a law
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. rule — government
  8. field — for sport
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bulb — for light
  11. board — to get on
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. bulb — for light
  14. spring — of water
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. board — a committee
  19. spring — the season
  20. field — farmland
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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