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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. cap — a lid
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. field — for sport
  6. kid — child
  7. pitch — completely
  8. kid — to tease
  9. cap — a hat
  10. field — farmland
  11. branch — a division
  12. field — a subject
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. cap — of ice
  15. stock — shares
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. stock — goods
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. chair — a leader

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