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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.

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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. net — in sport
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. bark — to shout
  9. net — after costs
  10. face — to point toward
  11. roll — a cake
  12. cap — a hat
  13. land — ground
  14. key — in music
  15. cap — a lid
  16. land — a country
  17. roll — a list
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. net — for catching
  21. face — to confront
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. face — part of the head

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