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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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. sharp — clever
  4. ground — a position
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. face — part of the head
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. current — electric
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. current — happening now
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. spell — letters
  14. ground — the earth
  15. current — of water
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. ground — crushed
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. lash — to lash out

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