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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cell — a phone
  3. suit — in cards
  4. cap — a lid
  5. chair — a leader
  6. squash — to crush
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cap — a hat
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. suit — clothes
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. squash — the sport
  15. cell — in biology
  16. field — a subject
  17. lean — to bend
  18. suit — to fit
  19. field — farmland
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. squash — the vegetable

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