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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. can — a tin
  3. land — a country
  4. chair — a leader
  5. track — a path
  6. squash — to crush
  7. field — for sport
  8. hand — help
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. track — to keep track
  11. fine — high quality
  12. fine — all right
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. can — a tin
  16. track — a song
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. land — to come down
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. field — farmland
  22. land — ground
  23. field — a subject
  24. can — to be able to

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