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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. face — to confront
  3. date — the fruit
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. face — to point toward
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. kick — in football
  10. spell — magic
  11. spell — letters
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. fine — all right
  14. spell — a short time
  15. fine — high quality
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a committee
  18. bat — the animal
  19. face — part of the head
  20. chair — a leader
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. board — a flat piece

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