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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. ground — crushed
  4. staff — a stick
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. chair — a leader
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. field — a subject
  10. face — to point toward
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. ground — a position
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a hole
  16. wake — a trail
  17. face — to confront
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. ground — the earth
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. face — part of the head
  24. safe — out of danger

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