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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. game — a match
  3. mine — for digging
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. chair — a leader
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. face — to confront
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. face — to point toward
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. face — part of the head
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. deal — to handle
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. chair — to sit 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