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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. field — for sport
  3. spell — a short time
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spell — letters
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. cap — of ice
  8. court — for sport
  9. cap — a hat
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. field — farmland
  14. chest — a box
  15. court — of a king
  16. craft — a skill
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chest — of your body
  19. court — of law
  20. cap — a lid
  21. craft — boats
  22. spell — magic
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. field — a subject

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