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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. suit — in cards
  3. chair — a leader
  4. row — a line
  5. field — farmland
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. land — a country
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. land — ground
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. land — to come down
  15. suit — to fit
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bass — the fish
  18. suit — clothes
  19. bass — low music
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. ball — a great time
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. row — to paddle

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