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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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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: bound · field · mug · staff · game · tear · row · chair

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. row — a line
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bound — obliged
  5. field — farmland
  6. tear — from crying
  7. field — a subject
  8. mug — to rob
  9. staff — employees
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. tear — from crying
  12. game — wild animals
  13. row — to paddle
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bound — certain
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. field — for sport
  21. mug — a face
  22. tear — to rip
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chair — a professorship

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