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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. staff — employees
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. drill — a practice
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. staff — employees
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. field — farmland
  11. chair — a leader
  12. mark — a grade
  13. mark — a trace
  14. game — a match
  15. snap — to click
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. ball — a great time
  19. drill — the tool
  20. ball — a dance
  21. staff — a stick
  22. drill — army training
  23. field — for sport
  24. mark — to pay attention

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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