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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 116 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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. field — for sport
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — high quality
  7. chair — a leader
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. game — a match
  10. rash — a series
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. craft — boats
  13. ball — a great time
  14. field — farmland
  15. game — wild animals
  16. craft — a skill
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. ball — a dance
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. field — a subject
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. rash — hasty

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