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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. stem — to come from
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bound — obliged
  6. field — farmland
  7. bound — tied together
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — a permit
  10. field — a subject
  11. bound — certain
  12. march — the month
  13. chair — a leader
  14. squash — the sport
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. board — a committee
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. board — to get on
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. field — for sport
  22. march — music
  23. march — the month
  24. stem — of a plant

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