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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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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: chair · field · bat · face · club · rule · chest · pitcher

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. chest — a box
  3. chest — of your body
  4. club — for golf
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. rule — a law
  7. field — farmland
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. face — part of the head
  13. chair — a leader
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. face — to confront
  18. rule — government
  19. club — for dancing
  20. field — for sport
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. club — a group
  24. field — a subject

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