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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. face — to confront
  3. chair — a leader
  4. face — part of the head
  5. wake — a trail
  6. root — the cause
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. spring — the season
  10. cell — in biology
  11. face — to point toward
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. march — the month
  17. spring — of water
  18. march — the month
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. march — music
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. root — of a word
  23. cell — a phone
  24. root — of a plant

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