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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rule · field · plane · saw · prune · pop · chest · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. field — a subject
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pop — to visit
  6. chest — a box
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. pop — music
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. saw — the tool
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pop — soda
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. prune — to trim
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. chair — a leader
  20. rule — a law
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. prune — to trim
  24. rule — government

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