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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. ground — a position
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. mug — to rob
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mug — a cup
  8. ground — crushed
  9. field — farmland
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. field — a subject
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. capital — a city
  18. mug — a face
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. ground — the earth
  21. field — for sport
  22. chip — for betting
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. chip — to eat

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