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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — music
  3. net — in sport
  4. chair — a leader
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. net — for catching
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. net — after costs
  9. field — farmland
  10. rest — a break
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pop — to visit
  13. rest — what's left
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. stand — to bear
  16. clip — to cut
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. rest — what's left
  20. clip — a video
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. coach — a trainer

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