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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. bore — to drill
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. swing — in golf
  7. chair — a leader
  8. field — a subject
  9. swing — music
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. object — a thing
  12. bore — to tire
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. capital — a city
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. capital — money
  18. object — an aim
  19. net — in sport
  20. object — to protest
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. field — for sport

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