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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cap — of ice
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. cap — a hat
  8. field — farmland
  9. cue — for pool
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cue — a hint
  13. field — for sport
  14. chip — for betting
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. cap — a lid
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. chair — a leader
  19. lean — thin
  20. field — a subject
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chip — to eat
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. cue — a signal

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