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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. last — final
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. face — to confront
  8. net — for catching
  9. net — in sport
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. last — finally
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. net — after costs
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to point toward
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cap — of ice
  22. cap — a lid
  23. last — to go on
  24. cap — a hat

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