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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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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. hand — in cards
  3. charge — a price
  4. chair — a leader
  5. ball — a great time
  6. face — to point toward
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. charge — electricity
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. face — part of the head
  11. face — to confront
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — help
  15. ball — a dance
  16. charge — in control
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. snap — to click
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. mine — for digging
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. ball — a round shape

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