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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bat — the animal
  4. toast — bread
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. field — a subject
  8. foot — a measure
  9. field — for sport
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — a permit
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — tied together
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. bound — obliged
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. field — farmland
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. chair — a leader
  24. cabinet — ministers

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