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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. wind — moving air
  3. squash — to crush
  4. land — to come down
  5. prune — to trim
  6. present — the time now
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. face — part of the head
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. prune — to trim
  14. land — a country
  15. wind — moving air
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. present — a gift
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. squash — the sport
  20. land — ground
  21. face — to confront
  22. present — there
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — a professorship

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