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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: jam · field · squash · chair · wake · hand · leaves · lie

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. hand — help
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. field — a subject
  10. chair — a leader
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. hand — in cards
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. field — farmland
  24. lie — to recline

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