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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. field — a subject
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — a leader
  5. swing — to play on
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. swing — in golf
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bound — tied together
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. swing — music
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. bound — certain
  16. cap — of ice
  17. field — for sport
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. bound — obliged
  22. cap — a hat
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. field — farmland

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