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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.

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
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: fan · chair · swing · roll · capital · pop · stick · field

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. pop — soda
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. swing — music
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. capital — a city
  9. swing — to play on
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. roll — a cake
  13. pop — to visit
  14. field — for sport
  15. roll — a list
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. pop — music
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. swing — in golf
  23. fan — a supporter
  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