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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. face — part of the head
  3. cap — of ice
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. club — a group
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. club — for golf
  11. ground — a position
  12. face — to point toward
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — the earth
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cap — a hat
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. file — a line of people
  23. chair — a leader
  24. face — to confront

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