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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. face — part of the head
  3. field — a subject
  4. pitch — completely
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. rash — hasty
  9. press — to push
  10. face — to point toward
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. wake — a trail
  14. rash — a series
  15. press — a publisher
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. face — to confront
  19. vault — a safe
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. press — newspapers
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. wake — before a funeral

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