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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. drill — army training
  7. bulb — for light
  8. drill — a practice
  9. chair — a leader
  10. field — farmland
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. game — a match
  13. field — for sport
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. game — wild animals
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bulb — for light
  22. pitch — completely
  23. drill — the tool
  24. field — a subject

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