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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. lie — to recline
  3. staff — employees
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. craft — boats
  8. rock — a stone
  9. face — to confront
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. staff — a stick
  17. face — to point toward
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. face — part of the head
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. staff — employees
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. chair — a leader
  24. craft — a skill

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