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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. field — for sport
  5. face — to confront
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. chair — a leader
  8. face — part of the head
  9. ground — a position
  10. pound — a weight
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. wake — a trail
  20. ground — the earth
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. ground — crushed
  24. mouse — the animal

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