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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. field — farmland
  3. cap — a hat
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. cap — of ice
  6. field — for sport
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. staff — employees
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. staff — a stick
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. kid — child
  14. field — a subject
  15. kid — to tease
  16. staff — employees
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. rock — music
  24. cap — a lid

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