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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. fine — high quality
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. chair — a leader
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. lie — to recline
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. mate — to breed
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. suit — to fit
  12. content — the amount
  13. fine — all right
  14. field — a subject
  15. content — happy
  16. suit — in cards
  17. mate — a partner
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. field — farmland
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. field — for sport
  22. mate — a friend
  23. suit — clothes
  24. chair — a professorship

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