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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. cap — a hat
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. bore — to tire
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bore — to drill
  7. cap — of ice
  8. field — a subject
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. capital — a city
  14. bat — the animal
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cap — a lid
  17. capital — money
  18. stand — to bear
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. field — for sport
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. field — farmland
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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