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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. game — wild animals
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. row — to paddle
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. staff — employees
  12. key — in music
  13. key — the most important part
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. key — for a lock
  16. field — for sport
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. game — a match
  19. staff — employees
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. row — a line
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. chair — a leader
  24. staff — a stick

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