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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fine · cold · root · field · scale · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. fine — high quality
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cold — an illness
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. cold — not warm
  7. field — a subject
  8. chair — a leader
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. scale — size or range
  11. field — farmland
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — the cause
  15. fine — all right
  16. root — of a plant
  17. field — for sport
  18. scale — in music

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