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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 an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. plane — a tool
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. march — the month
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. field — farmland
  10. kid — to tease
  11. field — for sport
  12. stock — goods
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. stock — shares
  19. kid — child
  20. stand — to bear
  21. pound — a weight
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — for spectators

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