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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 120 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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. field — for sport
  3. firm — a company
  4. field — a subject
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. firm — steady
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. firm — decided
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. shower — to wash
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. field — farmland
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wound — an injury
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. chair — a leader

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