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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — a leader
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. saw — the tool
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. prune — to trim
  8. drill — army training
  9. spell — magic
  10. saw — the tool
  11. face — to confront
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. prune — to trim
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — letters
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. face — to point toward
  19. drill — the tool
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. drill — a practice
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. face — part of the head
  24. coach — a trainer

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