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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bass — low music
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. mark — a grade
  7. capital — a city
  8. field — for sport
  9. drill — the tool
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. drill — a practice
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. mark — a trace
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. drill — army training
  22. bass — the fish
  23. field — a subject
  24. capital — money

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