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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. squash — to crush
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. present — there
  6. face — to point toward
  7. rule — government
  8. kid — to tease
  9. face — to confront
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. face — part of the head
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. present — a gift
  15. kid — child
  16. rule — a law
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. squash — the sport
  19. chair — a leader
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. bat — the animal
  24. present — the time now

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