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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pitch — completely
  4. band — a music group
  5. file — a tool
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. face — part of the head
  8. race — a contest
  9. file — a line of people
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. file — a document
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wake — a trail
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. band — a ring
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. pass — a permit
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. race — humankind

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