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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. field — for sport
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. dip — to sink
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. spring — of water
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. field — a subject
  11. date — the fruit
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — the season
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. field — farmland
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. foot — a measure
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. plane — a tool
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. wake — a trail
  24. date — on the calendar

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