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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. last — final
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. board — to get on
  8. face — to confront
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. last — to go on
  11. board — a committee
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. capital — money
  16. game — a match
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. game — wild animals
  21. capital — a city
  22. face — to point toward
  23. last — finally
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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