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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. face — to point toward
  3. ground — crushed
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. swing — music
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — of water
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. spring — the season
  14. swing — in golf
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. saw — the tool
  19. face — part of the head
  20. swing — to play on
  21. face — to confront
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ground — a position
  24. ground — the earth

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