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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. board — to get on
  3. chair — a leader
  4. face — part of the head
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. race — the arms race
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. spring — the season
  11. face — to point toward
  12. fork — in a road
  13. vault — a safe
  14. race — humankind
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. pop — to visit
  17. pop — music
  18. race — a contest
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. spring — a coil
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. face — to confront
  23. board — a committee
  24. spring — of water

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