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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. field — a subject
  4. wound — an injury
  5. key — in music
  6. staff — a stick
  7. rash — hasty
  8. key — the most important part
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. key — for a lock
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. staff — employees
  15. staff — employees
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rash — a series
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. field — farmland
  21. wake — a trail
  22. field — for sport
  23. chair — a leader
  24. fan — a supporter

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