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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. ground — the earth
  3. ground — a position
  4. spell — a short time
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. field — for sport
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. prune — to trim
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. field — a subject
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. field — farmland
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. chair — a leader
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. spell — letters
  22. ground — crushed
  23. spell — magic
  24. sharp — clever

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