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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. chair — a leader
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. date — the fruit
  7. perch — the fish
  8. object — an aim
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — thin
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. face — to confront
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — to protest
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. face — to point toward
  20. hand — in cards
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. snap — to click
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. hand — help

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