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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. firm — decided
  3. prune — to trim
  4. chair — a leader
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. field — farmland
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. firm — steady
  10. pass — a permit
  11. field — for sport
  12. face — to point toward
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. can — a tin
  15. face — to confront
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. face — part of the head
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. prune — to trim
  20. can — a tin
  21. chest — of your body
  22. field — a subject
  23. can — to be able to
  24. firm — a company

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