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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The kitten curled into 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. chair — a professorship
  2. face — to confront
  3. spell — letters
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. squash — the sport
  7. perch — the fish
  8. face — part of the head
  9. squash — to crush
  10. spell — a short time
  11. saw — the tool
  12. face — to point toward
  13. spell — magic
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. ball — a dance
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — in a road
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ball — a round shape
  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