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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. bank — for money
  4. pit — in a race
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rock — a stone
  7. swing — to play on
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. cold — an illness
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. pit — a hole
  13. chair — a leader
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bank — of a river
  16. rock — music
  17. bank — for money
  18. chip — to eat
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to point toward
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. swing — music
  24. chip — for betting

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