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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rule — a law
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. court — of law
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. face — to point toward
  8. firm — decided
  9. chest — of your body
  10. court — of a king
  11. firm — steady
  12. rule — government
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pass — a permit
  16. chair — a leader
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. face — part of the head
  19. firm — a company
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. court — for sport
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. chest — a box
  24. pass — to spend time

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