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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. can — to be able to
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. tear — to rip
  7. scale — in music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ground — a position
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. ground — crushed
  13. can — a tin
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. foot — a measure
  16. scale — size or range
  17. tear — from crying
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. can — a tin
  20. craft — a skill
  21. ground — the earth
  22. craft — boats
  23. field — for sport
  24. foot — part of the body

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