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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. clip — for paper
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. game — wild animals
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. face — part of the head
  10. game — a match
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. bat — the animal
  13. clip — a video
  14. pass — a permit
  15. clip — to cut
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. face — to point toward
  22. dip — to sink
  23. face — to confront
  24. temple — a place of worship

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