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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. charge — in control
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. staff — a stick
  6. vault — a safe
  7. race — the arms race
  8. staff — employees
  9. charge — electricity
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. season — in sport
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. race — a contest
  16. charge — a price
  17. cold — an illness
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. race — humankind
  20. chair — a leader
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. field — for sport

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