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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. field — a subject
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. field — farmland
  5. rash — a series
  6. mug — a face
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. field — for sport
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. rash — hasty
  20. mug — a cup
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. chair — a leader
  23. mug — to rob
  24. hide — to keep secret

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