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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. rest — a break
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bore — to tire
  5. chair — a leader
  6. rock — music
  7. march — the month
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — a stone
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. face — part of the head
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. scale — in music
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. face — to point toward
  18. march — music
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. march — the month
  23. scale — size or range
  24. bore — to drill

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