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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mug — a face
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — part of the head
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. face — to point toward
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. toast — bread
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. field — for sport
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. field — a subject
  19. chip — to eat
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. field — farmland
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. mug — a cup
  24. chip — for betting

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