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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pop — soda
  3. club — for dancing
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. face — part of the head
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. club — for golf
  10. drill — the tool
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. bat — the animal
  14. drill — a practice
  15. present — the time now
  16. club — a group
  17. pop — to visit
  18. face — to confront
  19. present — there
  20. pop — music
  21. drill — army training
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. present — a gift

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