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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 not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. lean — to bend
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. cell — in biology
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. lean — thin
  16. ground — crushed
  17. face — part of the head
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. ground — a position
  20. cell — a phone
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. ground — the earth
  24. arm — part of the body

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