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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. face — to confront
  3. court — of law
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. ball — a great time
  9. ball — a dance
  10. chair — a leader
  11. face — part of the head
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. saw — the tool
  14. face — to point toward
  15. saw — the tool
  16. root — of a word
  17. court — for sport
  18. lie — to recline
  19. court — of a king
  20. root — the cause
  21. root — of a plant
  22. pop — music
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. lie — an untruth

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