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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. lean — thin
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. face — to point toward
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. face — to confront
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. mine — for digging
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. sharp — clever
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. face — part of the head
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. chair — a leader

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