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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. face — part of the head
  3. face — to confront
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — letters
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. tube — a container
  10. tube — the underground
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. rash — a series
  16. spell — magic
  17. face — to point toward
  18. chest — a box
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. rash — on the skin

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