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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — a hat
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bound — certain
  8. field — a subject
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. capital — money
  13. firm — decided
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. capital — a city
  17. bound — tied together
  18. field — farmland
  19. firm — a company
  20. cap — of ice
  21. march — the month
  22. bound — obliged
  23. field — for sport
  24. firm — steady

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