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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. degree — from a university
  3. spell — a short time
  4. drill — army training
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. board — a committee
  8. pitch — completely
  9. field — farmland
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. drill — a practice
  12. foot — a measure
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. field — a subject
  15. degree — an amount
  16. spell — letters
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. spell — magic
  21. degree — temperature
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. drill — the tool
  24. field — for sport

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