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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. board — a committee
  3. ball — a dance
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. dip — to sink
  6. ball — a great time
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — part of the head
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. mate — a partner
  14. face — to confront
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. mate — a friend
  19. shower — rain
  20. mate — to breed
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. board — to get on
  24. shower — to wash

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