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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. plane — a tool
  7. prune — to trim
  8. season — in sport
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pit — a hole
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. face — part of the head
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. pit — in a race
  18. face — to point toward
  19. prune — to trim
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. face — to confront
  23. season — of the year
  24. plane — an aircraft

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