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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. hand — in cards
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cap — a lid
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — all right
  10. spring — of water
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. net — in sport
  15. spring — the season
  16. net — for catching
  17. cap — of ice
  18. face — part of the head
  19. hand — help
  20. cap — a hat
  21. face — to confront
  22. net — after costs
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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