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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. spell — letters
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. band — a music group
  8. spell — magic
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. face — to point toward
  12. vault — a safe
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. chair — a leader
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. content — happy
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. band — a ring
  22. face — part of the head
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. spell — a short time

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