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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. lie — to recline
  3. chair — a leader
  4. field — farmland
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. row — a line
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. row — to paddle
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. band — a ring
  20. field — for sport
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. field — a subject

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