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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 124 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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. last — to go on
  6. face — to point toward
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. last — final
  10. shower — to wash
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. face — to confront
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. face — part of the head
  15. last — finally
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. shower — rain
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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