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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. field — for sport
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. field — farmland
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. mine — for digging
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wax — to grow
  14. row — a line
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. toast — bread
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. kid — child
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. row — to paddle
  24. field — a subject

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