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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 120 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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. scale — size or range
  4. content — happy
  5. spring — of water
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. content — the amount
  9. scale — in music
  10. face — to confront
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. spring — a coil
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. court — for sport
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. face — part of the head
  23. spring — the season
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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