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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. face — to confront
  4. face — part of the head
  5. land — a country
  6. press — to push
  7. current — happening now
  8. deal — to handle
  9. press — a publisher
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. current — electric
  12. current — of water
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. fork — in a road
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. press — newspapers
  19. last — finally
  20. face — to point toward
  21. land — ground
  22. land — to come down
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. fork — a garden tool

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