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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. chair — a leader
  3. field — a subject
  4. date — the fruit
  5. present — a gift
  6. wake — a trail
  7. file — a tool
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. file — a line of people
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. field — farmland
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — in sport
  15. present — there
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. file — a document
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. field — for sport
  21. present — the time now
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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