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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — a leader
  4. cap — a hat
  5. net — after costs
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. face — to confront
  8. field — farmland
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. net — for catching
  11. wax — to grow
  12. field — a subject
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — of ice
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. net — in sport
  19. face — to point toward
  20. field — for sport
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. face — part of the head
  24. cabinet — ministers

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