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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. row — to paddle
  3. row — a line
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. face — to point toward
  7. chair — a leader
  8. suit — to fit
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. ball — a dance
  11. suit — clothes
  12. plane — a tool
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. face — part of the head
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. face — to confront
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. ball — a great time
  20. hand — help
  21. suit — in cards
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wound — an injury
  24. plane — in geometry

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