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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 116 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. scale — size or range
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. rule — government
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. face — to confront
  9. net — for catching
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fork — in a road
  12. court — for sport
  13. chair — a leader
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. face — to point toward
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. face — part of the head
  20. court — of a king
  21. rule — a law
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. court — of law

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