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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. band — a music group
  3. chair — a leader
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. ground — crushed
  7. spring — the season
  8. kick — in football
  9. face — to point toward
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — a partner
  12. ground — the earth
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. spring — of water
  15. face — part of the head
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. face — to confront
  18. spring — a coil
  19. mate — to breed
  20. track — a path
  21. ground — a position
  22. track — a song
  23. band — a ring
  24. track — to keep track

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