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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. present — a gift
  3. chair — a leader
  4. face — to confront
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. present — the time now
  8. ground — a position
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. present — there
  12. face — to point toward
  13. stem — to come from
  14. ground — the earth
  15. face — part of the head
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. ground — crushed
  19. squash — the sport
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. wake — a trail
  23. squash — to crush
  24. chair — to sit on

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