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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. drill — the tool
  3. cue — for pool
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. field — for sport
  7. capital — a city
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. field — farmland
  10. fine — all right
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bound — certain
  13. cue — a hint
  14. drill — army training
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. capital — money
  20. bound — obliged
  21. cue — a signal
  22. field — a subject
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bound — tied together

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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