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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 116 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. chair — a leader
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. branch — a division
  6. field — for sport
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. root — the cause
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. kid — child
  15. snap — to click
  16. net — for catching
  17. field — farmland
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. net — after costs
  20. field — a subject
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. root — of a plant
  24. root — of a word

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