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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. roll — a cake
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. net — in sport
  6. cue — for pool
  7. degree — from a university
  8. net — for catching
  9. face — to point toward
  10. chair — a leader
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. face — to confront
  15. cue — a hint
  16. degree — temperature
  17. net — after costs
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. roll — a list
  21. cue — a signal
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. degree — an amount

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