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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rest — a break
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. capital — money
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — a leader
  10. band — a music group
  11. rest — what's left
  12. band — a ring
  13. capital — a city
  14. field — for sport
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. field — farmland
  19. rule — government
  20. rest — what's left
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. rule — a law

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