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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. face — to point toward
  3. chair — a leader
  4. roll — a cake
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. swing — to play on
  7. track — to keep track
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — part of the head
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. swing — music
  14. bound — obliged
  15. track — a song
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. track — a path
  18. roll — a list
  19. bound — certain
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bound — tied together
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. swing — in golf

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