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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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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. last — final
  3. chip — for betting
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. face — to point toward
  6. last — finally
  7. chip — to eat
  8. last — to go on
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. pound — a weight
  14. face — to confront
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. face — part of the head

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