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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. face — to point toward
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. lie — to recline
  8. saw — the tool
  9. face — part of the head
  10. wound — an injury
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. game — wild animals
  15. saw — the tool
  16. face — to confront
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. game — a match
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pitch — completely
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wound — an injury

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