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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: chair · racket · field · swing · prune · row · mark · ground

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. row — to paddle
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. field — a subject
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. row — a line
  9. swing — music
  10. prune — to trim
  11. field — farmland
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mark — a trace
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. chair — a leader
  16. ground — a position
  17. mark — a grade
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. ground — crushed
  20. field — for sport
  21. prune — to trim
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — to play on

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