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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. prune — to trim
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. scale — in music
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chip — to eat
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — part of the head
  9. can — to be able to
  10. can — a tin
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. scale — size or range
  15. chip — for betting
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. kick — in football
  21. can — a tin
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. face — to point toward

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