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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. face — to point toward
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. cell — a phone
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. degree — temperature
  7. degree — from a university
  8. capital — money
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — part of the head
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chip — for betting
  13. degree — an amount
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. squash — the sport
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. dip — to sink
  22. capital — a city
  23. chip — to eat
  24. cell — in biology

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