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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. face — to confront
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. face — to point toward
  10. rash — a series
  11. chair — a leader
  12. pass — a permit
  13. object — to protest
  14. object — an aim
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. degree — from a university
  19. object — a thing
  20. face — part of the head
  21. degree — an amount
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. rash — hasty
  24. degree — temperature

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