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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. rash — a series
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. field — for sport
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. field — farmland
  8. net — in sport
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. net — for catching
  13. stand — to bear
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — money
  16. bass — the fish
  17. band — a music group
  18. capital — a city
  19. bass — low music
  20. band — a ring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. chair — a leader
  23. net — after costs
  24. chair — to sit on

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