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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. board — a committee
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. face — to confront
  9. can — a tin
  10. file — a line of people
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. face — part of the head
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. shower — rain
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. board — to get on
  17. snap — to click
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. can — to be able to
  20. shower — to wash
  21. can — a tin
  22. pitch — completely
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a 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