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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. face — to point toward
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. rock — music
  4. kid — child
  5. object — a thing
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. object — an aim
  10. clip — a video
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. face — to confront
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. rock — a stone
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. kid — to tease
  17. face — part of the head
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. plane — a tool
  22. object — to protest
  23. clip — for paper
  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