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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bear — the animal
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. chair — a leader
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cell — a phone
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. field — farmland
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. fine — high quality
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cell — in biology
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fine — all right

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