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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. face — part of the head
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. spring — the season
  6. chair — a leader
  7. face — to confront
  8. spring — a coil
  9. face — to point toward
  10. suit — in cards
  11. pit — a hole
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. pit — in a race
  16. squash — to crush
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. suit — clothes
  20. tear — to rip
  21. suit — to fit
  22. tear — from crying
  23. spring — of water
  24. tear — from crying

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