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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 124 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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468
Word bank
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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. can — a tin
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — part of the head
  5. row — a line
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. chair — a leader
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mine — for digging
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. face — to confront
  16. can — a tin
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. can — to be able to
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. game — wild animals
  22. row — to paddle
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — a monarch

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