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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wake — a trail
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. field — farmland
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. field — for sport
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. foot — a measure
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. squash — to crush
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. present — a gift
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. field — a subject
  24. present — there

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