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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. field — farmland
  3. prune — to trim
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. scale — size or range
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. field — for sport
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — a law
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cell — a phone
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cell — in biology
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a leader
  21. prune — to trim
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. field — a subject

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