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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. scale — size or range
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. field — a subject
  8. vault — a safe
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. field — farmland
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. field — for sport
  18. chair — a leader
  19. scale — in music
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. ground — the earth

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