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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. field — for sport
  5. club — for golf
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pass — a permit
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. spring — of water
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. game — wild animals
  12. spring — a coil
  13. field — farmland
  14. spring — the season
  15. row — a line
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — the underground
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. game — a match
  24. row — to paddle

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