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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. lean — thin
  4. squash — to crush
  5. face — part of the head
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. face — to confront
  9. lean — to bend
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. present — the time now
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. stock — shares
  16. game — a match
  17. chair — a leader
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. face — to point toward
  21. present — there
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. present — a gift
  24. game — wild animals

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